The gunman who killed two children and wounded 17 others in a mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis on Wednesday has been identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, according to multiple media outlets.
Police are also investigating whether a series of disturbing YouTube videos shared on an account hours before the shooting were connected to Westman, law enforcement sources told the New York Post. A video allegedly made by the gunman showed the phrases "kill Donald Trump" and "for the children" scrawled on gun magazines.
In one video, a hand slowly turns the pages of a red notebook, which is laid out on top of what appears to be schematic gun diagrams, the Post reported. The video also showed diary entries written in English and Russian.
Each page is filled with messy, hard-to-read scrawl, and and occasional plumes of smoke rise from the bottom of the screen, as the person turning the pages coughs and sometimes lets out a maniacal giggle.
Public records showed Robin Westman's father, James Westman, owns a home in south Minneapolis, less than a mile from Annunciation Church, where the attack occurred, The Minnesota Star Tribune reported. Police were stationed outside the home, which was cordoned off with crime scene tape.
Robin Westman's mother answered a cellphone call in tears but told a Star Tribune reporter she did not know if her child was the shooter.
One source told the Star Tribune that Robin Westman's mother once worked at Annunciation. The church said in 2021 that Robin Westman's mother provided "wonderful hospitality" in a Facebook post announcing her departure.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said the shooter — armed with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol — approached the side of the church and shot dozens of rounds through the windows toward the children sitting in the pews during the first Mass of the school year.
O'Hara said 17 of the wounded included 14 children, with two in critical condition. He said police rescued multiple children who were hiding inside the church, as other first responders tended to the victims and took them to area hospitals.
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
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