The family of one of the two children who were killed in the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting on Wednesday said the shooter took away a kid who loved his family, friends and “any sport that he was allowed to play,” according to CBS Minnesota. Law enforcement have not released the identities of the students killed or injured.
“Yesterday, a coward decided to take our 8-year-old son, Fletcher, away from us,” Jesse Merkel told a crowd Thursday. “Because of their actions, we will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming.”
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Fletcher and a 10-year-old child were killed when a shooter opened fire into the church, striking children and adults during a morning mass. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said church protocol to lock doors at the start of service likely saved additional lives.
Police learned that the shooter barricaded the doors on one side of the church and shot through several narrow windows, where she killed two children and injured 20 people, O’Hara said. He previously said that police recovered a 5.56 mm rifle, shotgun and pistol from the shooter after she died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Merkel said the shooter took away Fletcher and left a hole in their hearts and lives that will never be filled. He offered prayers to the 10-year-old’s family and hoped they both would find healing.
As for those who were wounded, Merkel is hopeful they’re expected to make a full recovery — physiologically and mentally — and find the strength to “live loving, happy and full lives.”
“Please remember Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that ended his life,” Merkel said. “Give your kids an extra hug and kiss today. We love you. Fletcher, you’ll always be with us.”
Children injured
A young girl told reporters she and others were in church when they heard a loud sound, and were ushered to the preschool’s room. She described seeing broken glass in the church on her way to another section of the building.
The additional child who was found injured was privately transported to a hospital outside of Minneapolis for treatment. O’Hara said police were notified about the child’s injuries after they were discharged from the hospital.
Injuries children sustained in the shooting ranged from graze wounds to life-threatening, O’Hara said. Pat Scallen told “Good Morning America” that he helped comfort a girl who was shot in the head and saw scores of children mentally and physically harmed from the shooting. He lived near the church and raced over when he heard gunshots.
“They were very frightened. They wanted their mom and dad,” he told anchors. “And I just, I sat them down and just tried to keep them calm, and I was watching them close to see if there’d be any change in their status.”
Hate towards children
Police identified the shooter as 23-year-old Robin Westman. Investigations are underway to help law enforcement piece together how she planned and carried out the attack. Despite her filing to change her name to Robin to fit her gender identity, law enforcement referred to Westman as a man and used her former name.
FBI Director Kash Patel wrote on X Wednesday that his office is investigating the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate against Catholics.
Acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota, Joe Thompson, said Thursday the shooter “expressed hate towards almost every group imaginable” except for other mass shooters, whom he said the shooter idolized. He confirmed that authorities are combing through “disturbing” writings the shooter left behind that described her plan, mental state and hate.
He added that the shooter sought to kill children when they were in their most vulnerable positions at school.
“The shooter wanted to watch children suffer,” Thompson said.
O’Hara said in a news conference that police recovered 116 rifle rounds and three shotgun shells at the scene. A live round was also recovered from the pistol Westman had, which appeared to have malfunctioned and jammed.
Police recovered “hundreds” of pieces of evidence after executing search warrants at the church and three homes they believed to be associated with the shooter.
The shooter attended mass and school at Annunciation when she was younger, plus her mother was a parish employee for some time, O’Hara said. Police have not yet found evidence of an expressed grievance to the church.
An anonymous source told CNN the shooter visited the church recently and created a detailed drawing of the building’s interior.
“No investigation, no evidence will ever be able to make sense of such an unthinkable tragedy,” O’Hara said.
Officials demand action
Lawmakers joined gun violence prevention nonprofits Moms Demand Action and Everytown for Gun Safety at City Hall for a rally to condemn the shooting and demand more gun laws. Both Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and state Attorney General Keith Ellison, both Democrats, called for a national ban on assault weapons.
Minnesota doesn’t have a law that bans certain types of firearms, according to Everytown. However, Minneapolis’ law requires anyone who isn’t an officer, employee or agent of a law enforcement agency or the Armed Forces to register their weapons with the police in order to be lawfully possessed.
The city defined an assault weapon as, among other firearms, semiautomatic rifles like the AK-47, AR-15 and AR-70, plus some revolving cylinder shotguns and semiautomatic pistols.
It’s unclear what laws could have prevented the shooting. O’Hara shared that the shooter had no prior criminal charges beyond a traffic ticket. Police don’t have any evidence to suggest that the shooter acquired the weapons illegally.
