The FBI has raided Robin Westman's mother's home after a mass shooting in Minneapolis, and his mother is reportedly "refusing" to cooperate.
23-year-old Westman carried out a shooting on August 27 that left two children dead and another 18 wounded.
The devastating attack unfolded just as school had begun for many students, and the chaos erupted during morning Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church.
Westman, armed with a rifle, shotgun, and handgun, opened fire through the church windows.
The children who lost their lives were Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, both of whom were among those gathered for Mass that morning.
While the investigation into Westman’s motives continues, law enforcement has focused on their mother, Mary, who worked at a school attached to the church until her retirement in 2021.
Plain-clothed FBI agents were spotted at her home in Naples, Florida, attempting to get answers but were unsuccessful in their attempts to gain cooperation, as reported by Wink News.
Despite their efforts, including knocking on windows and attempting to enter through the back door, Mary has yet to speak with authorities, per the Sun.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara revealed that the department has struggled to communicate with Mary, leading to further investigation by the Department of Justice.
The case is being treated as a domestic terror attack, and the FBI has labeled it as a possible Catholic hate crime.
In one disturbing series of videos, Westman exhibited an obsession with guns, ammunition, and past shooters.
The suspect made disturbing references to notorious figures such as Robert Bowers, who was responsible for the 2018 Tree of Life Synagogue massacre, and Anders Behring Breivik, a Norwegian mass murderer.
These ominous clips revealed that Westman had planned the massacre meticulously, including a detailed map of the church's layout, and expressed a clear desire to inflict harm on children.
After the attack, authorities found over 120 shell casings at the church, alongside rifle and shotgun rounds.
17 people, including several elderly parishioners, were injured, though all are expected to survive.
Westman was found dead at the scene with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The shooting has added to the already staggering number of mass shootings in the U.S. this year, with 285 incidents reported according to the Gun Violence Archive.
One victim, 12-year-old Sophia Forchas, was critically injured in the attack and remains in the ICU after undergoing emergency surgery.
Sophia’s mother, who works in the pediatric intensive care unit at Hennepin County Medical Center, was at work when news broke of the shooting.
She had no idea that her own daughter was one of the victims until later.
“Before knowing it was her children’s school that was attacked, and that her daughter was critically injured, she had already begun her shift,” the family shared in a GoFundMe campaign launched to support the Forchas family.
Our thoughts continue to be with those affected by this tragedy.