Minneapolis Church Shooting: Minn. Governor Deploys Police to Schools, Places of Worship

MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis families are still waiting for answers as more details are revealed about the suspected shooter who gunned down children attending Catholic school Mass this week.

Two children died and 17 other people, mostly juveniles, were shot and injured in a mass shooting Wednesday morning that came on the heels of other Twin Cities high-profile acts of violence.

The reported school shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene, according to police. But not much has been said publicly about any other clues as to why the school was targeted.

Gov. Tim Walz on Thursday deployed 20 state law enforcement officers to help patrol schools and places of worship in Minneapolis.

The officers, from the State Patrol and Department of Natural Resources, will coordinate with the Minneapolis Police Department.

"No child in America should go to school apprehensive of danger, of losing a classmate, of gunshots during prayer," Walz said in a statement. "We will work in close partnership with the City of Minneapolis to give residents every reassurance that their families and their children are safe."

The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is also helping MPD investigate the shooting.

One woman who declined to be identified described how she was inside the church when the shooting happened and that her feelings are "grief and the helplessness for the families that lost their two children, and for all those wounded, and our dear friends."

"We escaped fine. We didn't get hurt. We were able to comfort the little children and help bandage their head, their arms or anything," she said. She added that at first, she believed the gunfire was "a prank or fireworks."

"Then the screams told you it wasn't," she said.

Meanwhile, nine victims of the Annunciation Church shooting remained at HCMC in Minneapolis on Thursday morning, including five children. One child remained in critical condition, and one adult and one child were in serious condition. One patient had already been discharged and HCMC officials hoped another one or two would go home Thursday.

HCMC officials offered the updates Thursday morning in the same conference room that was used as a makeshift reunification center the day before, where family members arrived to learn the status of injured children. Dr. Jon Gayken, a trauma surgeon, said there were many moments when hospital and EMS workers at HCMC went to great lengths to comfort the injured and scared children, including a nurse manager who ordinarily wouldn't be involved in trauma response:

"One of the children was very scared and alone because everybody was running about doing their jobs. And she went into the CT scanner with the patient, putting herself basically in harm's way of radiation. She put a little lead (protective vest) on and stood there and held her hand and then held her hair while she went through the scanner, so she wouldn't have to go through alone."

On Thursday, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said that the National Institutes of Health plans to study the effects of antidepressant medications and their warnings about suicidal and homicidal ideation, following the shooting.

Speaking on "Fox & Friends," Kennedy sidestepped a question from co-host Brian Kilmeade about gender-affirming care in connection with suspect Robin Westman, instead focusing on antidepressants. There is no public indication that Westman was taking such medications.

"We can't exclude those as a culprit," Kennedy said. "We're launching studies on the potential contribution of some of the SSRI drugs and other psychiatric drugs that might be contributing to violence."

Kennedy added, "This kind of violence is very recent."

Sen. Tina Smith responded to Kennedy on social media.

"I dare you to go to Annunciation School and tell our grieving community, in effect, guns don't kill kids, antidepressants do," Smith said in a post on X responding to a clip of Kennedy on Fox & Friends. "Just shut up."

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said Thursday the practice of locking the doors when morning Mass began at Annunciation Church on Wednesday likely prevented further tragedy, forcing Westman to fire from outside.

"Due to the procedures that the school had in place, that the church had in place, after the mass had begun, the doors to the church were locked," he told NBC's "Today."

"This coward had to fire from outside of the church through the church windows and into the church, and we believe him not being able to get into the church likely saved countless lives."

O'Hara added that authorities have so far seen "nothing specific to point to as the motive for targeting this church in this particular incident."

He told NBC's "Today" that authorities recovered hundreds of pieces of evidence after executing four search warrants related to the shooting. Police did not find any additional weapons during the searches, O'Hara said.

"There is some additional writings, I would say, that the FBI is helping us go through," O'Hara said, adding that authorities would likely seek electronic search warrants to examine devices.

_______________

Visit www.albertleatribune.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.