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Father of 8-year-old victim in Minneapolis shooting makes emotional statement
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Authorities in Minneapolis are continuing to investigate the motive behind the horrifying shooting that left two children dead.
It comes after officials said suspect Robin Westman was fixated on the idea of killing children.
“I won’t dignify the shooter’s words by repeating them,” acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joseph Thompson said at a briefing Thursday. “They are horrific and vile, but in short, the shooter wanted to watch children suffer.”
The two children shot and killed in the school shooting in Minnesota have now been named by their families. The first was identified as 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel, whose father gave an emotional statement to reporters on Thursday afternoon.
Shortly after, Harper Moyski was named in a statement shared on her parents’ behalf, which described the 10-year-old as “bright, joyful, and deeply loved.”
Westman, 23, was identified as the shooter who fired through the stained-glass windows at the church next to Annunciation Catholic School around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, as students were celebrating Mass at the start of the academic year.
The shooter’s mother, Mary Grace, has retained criminal defense attorney Ryan Garry, known for working with NFL star Colin Kaepernick on representing the George Floyd protestors.
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Minneapolis suspect Robin Westman’s mom retains Kaepernick lawyer as cops say she has not spoken to themWho is Robin Westman? What we know about suspect in Minneapolis school shooting that left two children deadSecond victim of Minnesota church shooting identified as ‘bright, joyful and deeply loved’ 10-year-old8-year-old killed in Minnesota church shooting is identified as father gives heartbreaking statementGun rights influencer responds after Minneapolis shooting suspect praised him in video
Key points
10-year-old girl killed in shooting identified in statement from familyEight-year-old victim identified by father in emotional statement to pressShooter wanted to kill 'defenseless children' and was familiar with layout of churchUvalde families sent wreath in memory of victimsSuspect's mom hires defence attorneyJen Psaki responds to MAGA’s ‘bad faith’ attacks over her saying ‘prayer is not freaking enough’
17 minutes ago
Vice president raises concerns about country's 'mental health crisis'
Vice President JD Vance has raised concerns about America’s ‘mental health crisis’ in the wake of the church shooting this week.
"We really do have, I think, a mental health crisis in the United States of America,” Vance said at an event in Wisconsin.
“We take way more psychiatric medication than any other nation on Earth, and I think it’s time for us to start asking some very hard questions about the root causes of this violence.”
JD Vance has said the country needed to ask some ‘very hard questions’ (Fox News)
Oliver O'Connell29 August 2025 18:40
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35 minutes ago
Shooter recently broke up with romantic partner, report says
Fox 9 reports that, according to a search warrant, the shooter who opened fire on a crowd of people and killed two children at a Minneapolis church and school had recently broken up with a romantic partner.
The warrant says that the shooter, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the church, had been driving a van registered to their father when the attack was carried out.
Beside the body, which was dressed in black “tactical gear,” were a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol.
Per Fox 9:
During a search of the shooter’s father’s home, law enforcement recovered a Condor tactical vest with “various attachments not related to law enforcement/security,” two external media storage devices and miscellaneous documents.
The father told police the shooter recently “broke up with a significant and/or romantic partner” and had been staying with a friend.
The father also confirmed to police that the shooter attended Annunciation as a child and that the shooter’s mother, his former spouse, worked there in the past.
Oliver O'Connell29 August 2025 18:22
42 minutes ago
Father recounts moment shooter opened fire through church window
Devin O’Brien was in the church attending Mass on Wednesday morning with his three children. He spoke to NBC affiliate KARE11’s Lou Raguse about what he saw.
“I can't explain the relief I feel for the kids I see here today and the absolute heartbreak for the families that don't have a kid coming home to them,” said O'Brien.
As the first shot was fired, O'Brien saw a rifle barrel poke through a narrow, broken stained-glass window.
“I yelled out ‘shooter,’” he said.
What followed was 119 shots fired into the church. The shooter’s writings and YouTube videos show he had a specific intent to kill children.
“There was a break in the shooting, and I ran from pew to pew and was just checking on kids. And I saw their little faces looking up at me. And they were so scared,” O'Brien said.
He added that it wasn't just adults helping the kids.
“The reason why a lot of the older students were injured, shot, was they were on the ground protecting their younger buddies. And I saw so many brave kids in that church yesterday, injured kids who were still trying to help. They were looking after each other in what was the most terrifying moment one can imagine,” O'Brien said.
Oliver O'Connell29 August 2025 18:15
57 minutes ago
Mike Johnson says ‘human heart’ is responsible for mass shootings
Mike Johnson says “the human heart” and not guns are responsible for mass shootings in the United States. During an appearance on Fox News, the Republican House Speaker attacked MSNBC host Jen Psaki and California Governor Gavin Newsom for their criticism of the GOP offering “thoughts and prayers” instead of action on gun control after the latest mass casualty event to shock the nation, this time at a church school in Minneapolis that left two children dead. ？“At the end of the day, the problem is not guns. Okay, Jen Psaki, the problem is the human heart. It's mental health,” Mr Johnson said.
Oliver O'Connell29 August 2025 18:00
1 hour ago
How to help the victim's of the Minneapolis mass shooting
Since Wednesday’s horrific events at Annunciation Catholic Church, people across the U.S. have stepped up with offers of help.
The City of Minneapolis established the Annunciation Response Fund, with the Minneapolis Foundation setting up a text-to-donate line.
Anyone wishing to donate to support the victims of the shooting can text “ACF1” to 41444.
The Minneapolis Foundation says it will work with Annunciation Catholic School to distribute those funds in the coming days and weeks.
The Minneapolis City’s Emergency Operations Center has also created a Donations Plan. Donated goods can be dropped off at Diamond Lake Lutheran Church, located at 5760 Portland Avenue, until 7 p.m. CT on Friday.
Families from the school will have the opportunity to access donated goods first, with the remaining donations being distributed to local community-based organizations
The Catholic Community Foundation of Minnesota has launched the Annunciation Hope and Healing Fund to support the church community.
GoFundMe has created a centralized hub of verified fundraisers. So far, eight fundraisers have been verified.
The Uvalde Foundation for Kids has launched a national initiative to provide financial support for the families of the two children who were killed at Annunciation to help with funeral arrangements, memorials and other expenses.
Finally, medical staff at hospitals who cared for the injured have underlined the need for blood donors as a substantial amount of the state’s supply was used in response to the attack.
With reporting from 5KSTP
Oliver O'Connell29 August 2025 17:45
1 hour ago
Minneapolis mayor responds to criticism for demand for action after shooting
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey has responded to criticism of his call for actions in addition to prayers in response to Wednesday’s mass shooting.
Frey was reacting to a post by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who wrote: “Those like @jenpsaki and @Jacob_Frey who criticize prayers in the wake of the Minneapolis tragedy are expressing the same anti-God sentiment that motivated the shooter— he aimed his wrath at God by trying to stop people with his bullets from praying to God. Now is a time for us to come together and join hands in prayer, for the children who were killed, their loved ones, and those who survived this horrific shooting.”
The mayor responded: “In Judaism, under ？？？？？？？？？ ？？？？？？ ("Heal the World"), we are taught that prayer is necessary, but not sufficient. Elected leaders cannot use prayers alone to let ourselves off the hook for our own inaction.”
School shootings in the U.S. are met with calls for “thoughts and prayers” for the victims, followed by stunning inaction from lawmakers to address access to guns.
Mayor Frey was joined by several Democratic lawmakers at City Hall on Thursday to call for state and federal bans on high-capacity magazines and assault weapons.
Minnesota Senator Tina Smith has also expressed her support for such a move. She wrote on X: “What civilian on God’s green Earth needs a gun that fires 116 rounds that quickly.”
Oliver O'Connell29 August 2025 17:38
1 hour ago
Minneapolis suspect’s mom retains Kaepernick lawyer as cops say she has not spoken to them
Police in Minneapolis say they have not been able to speak to the mother of church shooting suspect Robin Westman, as investigations into the killings continue.
The 23-year-old suspect opened fire through the stained-glass window of the church at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis at around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday before taking their own life. Two children, named as 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski were killed in the attack, with 18 others wounded.
Officers are now trying to piece together what led to the tragedy, including conducting dozens of interviews with those who knew Westman best. But police said they have been unable to speak to Mary Grace Westman, the suspect’s mother, who has hired a criminal defense attorney in the wake of the shooting.
Nicole Wootton-Cane has the latest.
Minneapolis suspect’s mom retains lawyer as cops say she has not spoken to them
The mother of the 23-year-old suspect worked at the school where the shooting took place for five years
Oliver O'Connell29 August 2025 17:30
1 hour ago
As of Friday morning, eight of the 18 injured victims of the mass shooting at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis are still hospitalized.
Two days after the shooting, seven people remain hospitalized at Hennepin Healthcare, and one is still being treated at Children’s Minnesota.
Per ABC affiliate 5KTSP:
While Children’s MN hasn’t released the condition of the child it is treating, Hennepin Healthcare says four of its seven patients from the shooting are in “satisfactory condition.” As for the other three, one child and one adult are in serious condition and one child is in critical condition.
Oliver O'Connell29 August 2025 17:09
1 hour ago
In pictures: People visit a make-shift memorial at Annunciation Catholic Church after the Wednesday's shooting
People have been visiting a make-shift memorial set up outside Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota (AP)
Flowers, toys and tributes have been left after two children were killed when a shooter opened fire as schoolchildren celebrated Mass on Wednesday morning (AP)
18 others were injured, including 15 children and three seniors, when 116 rifle rounds were fired through the stained glass windows of the church (AP)
The two children who died were named as Fletcher Merkel, aged 8, and Harper Moyski, aged 10 (AP)
Oliver O'Connell29 August 2025 17:00
2 hours ago
11-year-old survivor of church shooting says she is 'scared' and 'paranoid'
Chloe Francoual, an 11-year-old survivor of the Minneapolis school shooting, says it has left her feeling “scared” and “paranoid”.
She described how she now wants to shut every open window she sees.
She told CNN she hopes Mass will no longer be held at the Annunciation church.
“I still feel scared,” she said. “I feel kind of like paranoid.”
“Every time I see, like, a window open, I want to close it. Because just, I don’t want it happening again. And what’s scary to think about is that ‘What if another person comes?’” she told the outlet.
“I really hope they don’t do Mass at the church anymore,” she said.
“Because I think they know that people will have like, really bad flashbacks of it. And they’re like scared to like walk in, and they’re like looking around like a shivering, like, shaking. And then I think that the school knows that.”
Oliver O'Connell29 August 2025 16:40
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