Timely and Inspiring Prophetic Analysis so you can Prepare.

USA Today, by Jeanine Santucci, Corey Schmidt, and Jorge L. Ortiz: Two children were killed Wednesday and at least 17 people were injured when a shooter fired through the windows of a Minneapolis Catholic Church toward young students worshipping at Mass, authorities said.

The shooting occurred at Annunciation Church, which also houses a school, just before 8:30 a.m., authorities said. The shooter approached the outside of the church building and fired inside toward the children sitting in pews, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said.

The two children killed were ages 8 and 10. Fourteen of the 17 injured were children, and two of them are in critical condition, O’Hara said.

The assailant died at the rear of the church from a self-inflicted wound, O’Hara said.

Authorities at an afternoon news conference identified the shooter as Robin Westman. FBI Director Kash Patel said the attack is being investigated as “an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.”

The Mass was in celebration of the first week of school, O’Hara said.

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

The shooting came after at least three other fatal shootings in the city in the last 24 hours that do not appear to be related to the Annunciation incident, he said.

Social media treatise taken down

O’Hara referenced a statement Westman timed to have released on YouTube.

O’Hara referenced online messages from the alleged shooter released Aug. 27 that were timed to publish during the shooting. He said the FBI ordered the YouTube clips to be taken down and was reviewing them for a possible motive.

Archived versions of the videos from the now-deleted YouTube page show the alleged shooter displaying a handwritten journal and an arsenal of firearms and ammunition. The video, posted Aug. 27 hours before the shooting, references a handwritten note that includes the name Robin Westman.

The videos included a handwritten map of the interior of Annunciation Church. The note references severe depression and suicidal thoughts.

The alleged shooter’s firearms were marked with a variety of political slogans in silver marker in both English and Russian. O’Hara said police were processing four search warrants searching for the shooter’s motive and had seized other firearms.

“This manifesto appeared to show him at the scene and included some disturbing writings,” O’Hara said. “That content has since been taken down with the assistance of the FBI.’’

Whatever that content is, O’Hara said police have not ascertained a motive for the attack.

Shooter fired from outside the church

The shooter, who was not immediately identified, fired through church windows from the outside of the building. The attacker may have also gone inside the church, but investigators haven’t determined whether the person also fired from inside the building.

The number of rounds fired was “in the dozens,” O’Hara said. The shooter is believed to have used three firearms: a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol.

“Children are dead,” Mayor Jacob Frey said. “Those families are suffering immense pain right now. Think of this as if it were your own. Every one of us needs to be wrapping our arms around these families, giving them every ounce that we can muster.”

Children as young as 6 injured

The Hennepin County Medical Center received 11 of the most seriously injured victims, nine of whom were children who ranged in age from 6 to 14, according to Dr. Thomas Wyatt, chair of emergency medicine.

Four of the patients required surgery, he said. Area children’s hospitals treated some of the other less critical pediatric patients, he said.

Local business went into lockdown, says shooting hits close to home

Hours after Kowalski’s Markets in south Minneapolis opened for the day, Johna Green was standing outside the store when she heard gunshots ring out down the block at Annunciation Catholic School.

“It was very rapid fire, probably like 20 to 30 shots total,” Green told USA TODAY, adding that she hustled her customers inside and the store went on lockdown.

Green said the shooting has hit close to home, particularly because store employees recently lost a loved one to gun violence and have a close relationship with the school. “Those kids come in here every day and get our donuts, we do donations to the school all the time,” she said. “This really hits hard for us.”

Ben Olson, who works down the street at Fixt Rite Auto Repair & Tire Center, said he noticed a handful of squad cars on his way into work, and by 9 a.m. a heavy law enforcement presence had engulfed the area. From his position about a block southwest of the school, he could see crowds of students and parents leaving and hear a helicopter circling overhead.

“We’re very concerned. A lot of us here are parents and have young children that are either just about to enter school or are already in school,” Olson said. “And us being kind of a staple in the community here, it’s very concerning because we’re very close with a lot of the neighborhood residents here and have been for quite some time.”

Prophetic Link:
“The Spirit of God is withdrawing from the earth, and calamity follows calamity by sea and by land. There are tempests, earthquakes, fires, floods, murders of every grade. Who can read the future? Where is security? There is assurance in nothing that is human or earthly. Rapidly are men ranging themselves under the banner they have chosen. Restlessly are they waiting and watching the movements of their leaders.” Desire of Ages, 636

Source References

• Minneapolis shooter fired into church pews, killing 2 children