3 children killed, 20 injured in shooting at school park in Minneapolis, US
Minneapolis:(Web News)At least two children, ages 8 and 10, were fatally shot in the pews of Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis after a shooter opened fire during Mass on Wednesday, police said.
Nineteen people in total were shot when the shooter — who police said was armed with a rifle, a shotgun and pistol — fired into the church’s windows, hitting children who were praying inside, authorities said Wednesday. Fourteen children, ages 6 to 15, and three parishioners in their 80s were wounded by gunfire while attending Mass.
The shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, officials added. Westman purchased the weapons used in Wednesday’s shooting legally, authorities said.On Wednesday afternoon, police were executing four search warrants: one for the church where the shooting occurred and three for nearby residences related to the shooter. Police have found additional firearms at those residences, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said.
The shooter created a manifesto with disturbing writings and timed it to appear Wednesday on YouTube, police said.
Earlier Wednesday, O’Hara said this was 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 incomprehensible.”
