The mother of Robin Westman, the Minneapolis mass shooter who killed two children, once worked at the Catholic school where the attack took place, according to police.
Two children were killed and 17 others injured when a gunman opened fire during a school mass at Annunciation Church and Catholic School in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning (August 27).
Law enforcement has identified the shooter as 23-year-old Robin Westman, who legally changed their name from Robert three years ago.
Westman, who was armed with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol, fired dozens of rounds through the church’s side windows, striking children seated in pews during their first week back at school.
A wooden plank had been used to block some side doors, and police also found a smoke bomb at the scene, though no explosives.
Witness Bill Bienemann revealed that the gunfire lasted for minutes. “I know what gunfire sounds like, and I was shocked,” he told Sky News. “I said there's no way that could be gunfire, there was so much of it. It seemed like a rifle, it certainly didn't sound like a handgun, so he must have reloaded several times.”
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey called the shooting an “unspeakable act," adding: “Children are dead... There are families that have a deceased child. You cannot put into words the gravity, the tragedy, or the absolute pain of this situation.
"These kids were literally praying, it was the first week of school. They were in a church, these are kids that should be learning with their friends," he added.
The attack hit especially close to the community because Westman’s mother, Mary Grace Westman, had been a secretary at Annunciation for five years before retiring in 2021.
According to The New York Post, the church blog post marking her retirement praised her service: “She has provided such wonderful hospitality, friendship, and compassion to all who gathered for the last five years at Annunciation. You will be missed! Congratulations on your retirement!”
Her brother, Robert L. Heleringer, a former Kentucky state representative, has written about their strict Catholic upbringing in the Louisville Courier-Journal.
He described dinners with priests and prayers led by their mother, crediting her with guiding him back to faith while he attended Xavier University.
Speaking after the shooting, Heleringer told the Associated Press that he barely knew Westman, as the families lived in different states, but said he wished they “had shot me instead of innocent schoolchildren".
Neighbors said the Westman family appeared ordinary and close-knit. Stephen Jeglosky, 35, remembered being invited to take group photos at what seemed like a graduation party two years ago.
“They seemed like a great family,” he said. “There were kids running around, parents drinking, music playing. Their little chihuahua nipped me in the ankle. They gave me a beer, and I went on my way. I guess you never know who somebody is.”
Doctors at Hennepin Healthcare and Children’s Minnesota treated most of the injured, seven of whom were in critical condition and four of whom required surgery. Later updates from police said all of those injured were expected to survive.
Westman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the school’s car park. Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed that they acted alone and had legally purchased the weapons.
Investigators recovered disturbing videos and pages of a handwritten manifesto that the shooter had scheduled to post on YouTube. Among the materials were magazines marked with “kill Donald Trump” and “for the children,” scrawled in a mix of Cyrillic letters and phonetic English.
The FBI has classified the massacre as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.
Our thoughts are with everyone affected by this tragedy.