Minneapolis Catholic School Shooting Investigated as Domestic Terrorism

Community Mourns After Deadly School Shooting

• 🕯️ Candlelight vigils were held in Minneapolis to mourn the two children killed and 14 others injured in a shooting at a Catholic school.
• 💔 The community is described as "a city united in grief" and urged to become "a city united in action."

Details of the Attack

• ⛪ A suspect allegedly shot through the windows of an incation Catholic church during a mass attended by students.
• 👶 Two young children, aged 8 and 10, were killed in the attack.
• 🤕 Three adults and 14 other children were injured.
• 🏃 A fifth grader described hiding under a pew and a friend being hit while protecting him.

Investigation and Suspect Information

• 🔍 The FBI is investigating the incident as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.
• 🔫 The suspect, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
• 📝 Investigators are reviewing a manifesto timed to be released on YouTube, which has since been taken down.
• 🚨 Search warrants at the church and three other locations tied to the shooter yielded additional firearms.

Security Measures and Response

• 🏛️ Flags were lowered to half-staff in Minnesota, at the White House, and across federal buildings and military locations.
• 🏢 NYPD deployed additional resources and patrols at houses of worship, specifically churches, though no known threat to New York was reported.
• 🏫 School safety protocols, including silent panic buttons and digital campus mapping, are being considered, with varying state mandates.
• 🛡️ Nassau County officials announced a new strategic response unit within the police department to be deployed across the county, including at schools.