The inexplicable work is at the forefront of a domestic terrorist investigation into Robin Westman, with authorities saying that they killed two children and injured 17 people.
Minnesota shooters targeted prayer children, police chief said
The shooter ignited prayers to children through a church window, what police called “deliberate acts of violence.”
The writings left by the shooters in Wednesday’s deadly attack at Minnesota Church have a foundation for many of the troubled people – and there is a lot of confusion as to why the mass shooting took place.
The suspect, Robin Westman, 23, appears to have posted at least two videos on YouTube. The first was a multi-page document written in English but in Cyrillic letters. The second presented a four-page document in which shooters apologise to family and friends and write about feeling pain and suffering.
The rest of the video shows the shooter displaying weapons of weapons, including rifles, handguns, shotguns and some magazines of ammunition, scrawled with the false magic of political messages and jokes.
Authorities have said the inexplicable writing is at the forefront of domestic terrorist investigations against Westman, and is an anti-Catholic attack in which FBI director Kash Patel killed two children and injured 17 people before committing suicide in the back of the church.
But like many large-scale shooters, Westman’s motivations would be difficult to decipher even detailed writings into meaningful things that could prevent future attacks. Westman is believed to have been a former student at the Minneapolis Announcement Church and Catholic School, but authorities say it is unclear what role it played.
There are clues that archers were operating in a hateful online community. The word “Skibidi” was written in a magazine about ammunition found at the scene of the attack. This is a reference to a short-lived online extremist message board that was abolished a few weeks ago.
The book also refers to two other mass shooters. The name “rupnow” is written on the rifle. This injured “Breivik,” a reference to Anders Breivik, who killed three students at the Rich Life Christian School in Madison, Wisconsin, injured six in December last year and killed 77 people in an attack in Norway in 2011.
“It’s very early to fully evaluate what has led to this horrifying violence,” said Rachel Carroll Rivas, interim director of the intelligence news project at the Southern Poverty Law Center. “However, early signs show young people expressing a combination of ideology, politics and inspiration. It may not fit properly into the box.”
Minneapolis Police and other law enforcement agencies responded to the scene of a shooting near Minneapolis Announcement Church and Catholic School on August 27.
Mixed hatred directed towards several groups
According to public records, Westman’s last known address was an apartment in the city’s South St. Paul area.
Mary Westman, the suspected shooter mother, signed a petition in 2019 to change the name of her child, according to court records. The district judge approved the change in 2020 when Robin Westman was 17 years old.
An analysis of the Prevention Abolition League pointed out that Westman’s writings contain clear anti-Semitic messages as well as other racist content targeting Christians, Jews, blacks, LGBTQ+ individuals, Muslims and Hispanics.
In the social media mail, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Christie Noem said that shooters have the words “for the children,” “Where is your God?” “Kill Donald Trump” in rifle magazine. ”
“This level of violence is impossible. Our deepest prayer is that children, parents, families, educators and Christians are everywhere,” Noem writes. “We mourn them and pray for healing. We will never forget them.”
Officials believe the shooter used three firearms legally purchased — a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol — and fired them from outside the building through a church window.
Videos, handwritten diaries, firearm weapons
The police officers referenced an online message from Westman, released on August 27th. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the FBI ordered the YouTube clip to be removed and reviewed possible motives, but USA Today said it was able to review the archived posts.
The archived version of the video on the currently derated YouTube page shows a shooter game showing handwritten journals and weapon caches.
The video included a handwritten map of the interior of the Announcement Church. Westman’s firearms were marked in both English and Russian with various political slogans of silver markers.
FBI director Patel said the attacks are being investigated as “acts of domestic terrorism and hate crimes targeting Catholics.”
Where is the Announcement Church and the Catholic School?
The school is located at 525 W 54th St. in Minnesota, about six miles south of downtown Minnesota, about four miles northeast of Minneapolis-Ansthesiology International Airport.
What happened in the Minnesota Catholic School shooting?
The shooting took place at a church around 8:30am. The church has a school on the scene, said O’Hara, the police chief.
According to a preliminary investigation, O’Hara said the shooter approached the church building from outside and fired inwards at the children sitting on their legs.
Mass was celebrating the first week of school, O’Hara said.
The children were worshiping God when the gunfire rang.
“Teachers were starting a new grade. The family left their loved ones to the care of the church,” Bishop of Saint Uncheques, Patrick M. Neary, told USA Today. “I am saddened at all who are now suffering from this trauma of meaningless violence. As Catholics, we believe in the dignity of all human lives, which will be destroyed.”
Who died in the Catholic school shooting?
Police reported two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed in the shooting.
Of the 17 injured, 14 were children and two were in critical condition, O’Hara said.
O’Hara said three parishioners were shot and treated in the ’80s.
Information on the extent of their injuries was not immediately released by law enforcement.
It was not immediately known whether the officer was injured in the shooting.
This story has been updated to add additional information.
Contributors: Janine Santucci and Corey Schmidt
Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter at USA Today. Contact her at nalund @usatoday.com and follow her at x @nataliealund.
