Minneapolis: Two children killed in shooting during mass at US school

Two children, aged eight and 10, have been killed in a shooting during mass at a school in Minneapolis.

A gunman opened fire with a rifle through the windows of a church at Annunciation Catholic School and struck a group of children as they sat in pews on Wednesday morning.

The FBI has confirmed that the killer has been identified as Robin Westman, a male born as Robert Westman.

Latest updates on US school shooting

The city’s police chief Brian O’Hara said the gunman – armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol – approached the side of the church and fired dozens of rounds as mass was celebrated during the first week of term.

He added that 17 other people were injured, including 14 children, two of whom were in a critical condition.

Police believe the gunman, thought to be in his early 20s and acting alone, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Follow latest: Shooting reported at US school at start of new term

Mr O’Hara called the attack in Minnesota a “deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping”.

“The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible.”

He also said a wooden plank had been used to barricade some of the side doors.

Authorities found a smoke bomb but no explosives at the scene, Mr O’Hara said.

Hennepin Healthcare, the main trauma hospital in Minneapolis, received 11 patients, including nine children – aged six to 14 – and two adults, emergency medicine chair Dr Thomas Wyatt said.

He said four of the patients were taken to operating rooms.

Children’s Minnesota, a paediatric trauma hospital, said in a statement that five children were admitted.

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‘So much’ gunfire, witness says

Bill Bienemann, a witness to the shooting, told Sky News that it went on “for several minutes – a long time for live gunfire”.

“I know what gunfire sounds like and I was shocked,” he added. “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.”

The pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school had an all-school mass scheduled at 8.15am local time on Wednesday morning (2.15pm UK time), according to its website.

Monday was the first day of the school semester.

Mayor calls shooting ‘unspeakable act’

At a news conference later, Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey said the shooting was an “unspeakable act”.

“Children are dead,” he said. “There are families that have a deceased child. You cannot put into words the gravity, the tragedy, or the absolute pain of this situation.”

Senator: Girl ‘had to watch several of her friends get shot’

Speaking to MSNBC, Democratic senator Amy Klouchbar said she had called one of her longtime employees who had three children in the school during the shooting.

The senator described the call with the mother as “one of the most upsetting things I’ve ever heard”.

“These kids are doing an all-school mass and had to watch several of her friends get shot – one in the back, one in the neck,” Ms Klobuchar added.

“And they all got down under the pews and she – her daughter, of course, was not shot – but her daughter ended up being the one to tell one of the dads of one of the other kids that his daughter had been shot.”

Responding to the reports, US President Donald Trump said on Truth Social: “I have been fully briefed on the tragic shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

“The FBI quickly responded and they are on the scene. The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation.”