Sadiq S BhatWashington, DC, — It was the first week of school after the summer break in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Pencil tips were sharp and notebooks crisp. Children streamed into Annunciation Catholic Church for a quick back-to-school prayer.
Just then, gunfire ripped through the stillness of Wednesday morning.
Two children were shot dead. Eight and ten years old. Seventeen others were wounded, fourteen of them kids.
Teachers shepherded students through broken windows, shards of broken glass and corridors slick with panic. Outside, 23-year-old Robin Westman ran to the parking lot, ending his own life.
Minneapolis, bisected by the Mississippi River, known for its parks and lakes, woke to a grim number: the 287th mass shooting of 2025 in the US, as per Gun Violence Archive reports. Thousands wounded. Hundreds dead.
While numbers are cold. Faces are not.
The gunman, as per police, used three weapons, fired dozens of rounds, and tried to barricade the doors on one side of the church.
Shooter and his trail of messages
Westman had no criminal record.
Police and the FBI say he acted alone. Approached from the side. Rifles, shotgun, pistol. Dozens of rounds fired through church windows at school children.
Inscribed on his weapons: "Kill Donald Trump," "Where is your God?" "For the Children," "Nuke India."
It appears there was a mix of things: Political rage. Some religious contempt. Xenophobia. Investigators find no group ties. Online activity is currently under review.
A deleted YouTube channel shows livestreamed attack, videos of weapons, and cryptic messages.
Minnesota authorities report Westman was on some sort of antipsychotic medication. Social media speculation, mostly unverified, suggests personal grievances.
No official motive has been released yet. FBI is examining possible radicalisation. The picture is chaotic extremism, not a plan.
What else do we know?
Federal officials referred to Westman as transgender.
According to the shooter's AP profile, a judge approved his petition in 2020, signed by Westman’s mother, asking for a name change from Robert to Robin, saying the petitioner wants the "name to reflect that identification."
Before the name change, the younger Westman attended Annunciation through the eighth grade, according to the Minnesota Star Tribune.
Westman's uncle, former Kentucky state lawmaker Bob Heleringer, said, "I wish he had shot me instead of innocent schoolchildren."
The human toll
In the shooting's wake, Minneapolis descended into chaos.
Parents rushed to hospitals, phones in hand. Teachers led students through fear. Neighbours and first responders outside tried to make sense. Candles flickered. Toys were promptly left at the church doors.
Minneapolis knows trauma.
There has been street violence previously. Now, another layer: mass shootings targeting children in schools and churches.
How did Westman get weapons? Could it have been prevented? What signs were missed, by whom?
Officials piece together his life, his mind. Background, links, contacts. Focus is immediate: online presence, messages, sequence of events leading to the attack.
Reports say that the writings on weapons read like a manifesto shattered into fragments. Anti-Trump messages. Anti-Christian phrases. Anti-religious rhetoric. Xenophobic threats. Nothing coherent.
Officials warn against oversimplification: collision of delusion, hate, opportunity.
Target choice: school and church.
Those wounded in the attack include children. The victims are still receiving care at Children’s Minnesota, while some patients were discharged.
"Our thoughts are with all the victims, their families, and loved ones in our communities who are impacted by yet another senseless act of violence," the hospital said in a public statement.
"We will not share more details to respect the privacy of our patients and families."
Reality is heartbreak
By Wednesday afternoon, the shooting was the only thing discussed in Minneapolis.
It also led to a community spirit where the first responders coordinated with schools. Volunteers and clergy met parents, offering counseling. Candles were lit at the church entrance.
Grief hummed alongside disbelief.
The city's mayor Jacob Frey delivered an impassioned speech, saying "words aren't enough."
"We have more guns in this country than people. We can't just say that this shouldn't happen again — and then allow it to happen again and again. We must act," he later posted on social media.
Meanwhile, as investigators probe digital trail, no motive has yet been confirmed.
As families grieve, children try to understand why a Mass ended in gunfire.
US President Donald Trump and other federal and state leaders have responded.
Trump confirmed that the FBI has launched an investigation, which FBI Director Kash Patel later said would investigate the shooting as both a hate crime and terrorism.
"The FBI is investigating this shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics," he announced in a social media post.
Democrats have renewed calls for tougher gun laws as mass shootings become a grim routine in the United States.
At the White House, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was pressed on criticism from former Biden aide Jen Psaki, who said offering "thoughts and prayers" was not enough to protect children.
"I saw the comments of my predecessor, Ms. Psaki, and frankly I think they’re incredibly insensitive and disrespectful to the tens of millions of Americans of faith across this country who believe in the power of prayer, who believe that prayer works," Leavitt said at a briefing.
"It's utterly disrespectful to deride the power of prayer in this country," Leavitt added.
As events unfold in tandem, the answers for Minneapolis remain unclear.
Reality is heartbreak: tiny lives and prayers cut short by bullets.
