Two Children Killed in U.S. Catholic School Mass Shooting

August 28, 2025 | 11:35 am

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Two 8 and 10-year-old children were killed when an armed man carried out a mass shooting at a Catholic school in the United States. According to the police, apart from the two fatalities, 17 others were injured while the victims were attending a church service.

The police chief of Minneapolis, Minnesota, stated that among the wounded in the Wednesday morning attack, 14 of them were children and two were in critical condition. All the children being treated are expected to survive.

Local authorities have not yet found a motive for the attack. The armed perpetrator, wielding a double-barreled shotgun and a pistol, has committed suicide. The suspect appeared to have acted alone. The FBI declared that they are investigating the attack as a potential act of terrorism.

"This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping," said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara in a press conference quoted from Al Jazeera. "The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible," he said.

The police said the perpetrator, identified as Robin Westman, was in his 20s. He apparently did not have an extensive criminal record. Dozens of rounds were fired during the attack. The armed man, dressed in black, stood outside the church and fired shots through a window while the school children were sitting in church pews. Other firearms were also found in households connected to Westman.

This is the 146th attack since January, according to the K-12 School Shooting Database. School shootings frequently occur in the U.S. Nevertheless, conservative groups and politicians oppose gun ownership restrictions.

Although local law enforcement has not presented evidence pointing to a specific motive, they stated that they are investigating videos uploaded online by the shooter. Court records show that Robert Westman changed his name to Westman in 2020 and identified as female.

"Anybody who is using this as an opportunity to villainise our trans community, or any other community out there, has lost their sense of common humanity," said Mayor Jacob Frey in a press conference.

A fifth-grade student named Weston Halsne told CBS News that his friend was shot while trying to shield him. "The shots were like, right next to me," said Halsne. "I think I got like gunpowder on my neck."

Pope Leo XIV, the first Pope from the US, called the shooting a tragedy. He prayed for the victims in that difficult time.

U.S. President Donald Trump described the shooting as a horrific situation. "I have been fully briefed on the tragic shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota," said Trump on his Truth Social social media platform.

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