Children killed in Minneapolis mass shooting identified, authorities still unsure of motive
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Family have identified the two children who were killed in the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School Wednesday as Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10.
“Please remember Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that ended his life,” said Jesse Merkel.
He said his son loved his family and friends, fishing, cooking and “any sport that he was allowed to play.” In the prepared statement, Merkel thanked the children and adults who acted swiftly during the shooting, and urged parents to give their kids “an extra hug and kiss today.”
In a statement, Moyski’s family described her as a “bright, joyful, and deeply loved 10-year-old whose laughter, kindness and spirit touched everyone who knew her.”
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The family called on leaders and the community to address gun violence and mental health concerns.
“While our immediate focus is on Harper and our family’s healing, we also believe it is important that her memory fuels action,” the statement reads.
Officials are still investigating after 18 people were injured at morning Mass celebrating the start of school.
Police identified the shooter as 23-year-old Robin Westman, who was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Westman shot 116 rifle rounds from outside the church building through windows. Forensics experts also recovered three shotgun shells, as well as a live round that appears to have gotten jammed in the killer’s handgun. All three weapons were purchased legally and recently.
Investigators also confirmed via surveillance video that the shooter did not enter the church, which typically locks its doors at the start of each service.
“This incident occurred shortly after the Mass was beginning, so there’s no question that the fact that the doors were locked likely saved additional lives,” O’Hara said.
Joe Thompson, acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, said Thursday the shooter left behind hundreds of pages of writing, expressing “hate towards almost every group imaginable,” and seemed to be obsessed with harming children.
Authorities searched three homes in Minneapolis, St. Louis Park and Richfield that are associated with the shooter.
Thompson said the FBI hasn’t found evidence to indicate that the killer had any help Wednesday, but that’s something they’re still looking into.
Authorities initially said Wednesday that 17 people were injured. The city of Minneapolis on Thursday updated that number to 18 — 15 of them children, as young as 6 years old. The additional victim had been transported by private vehicle to a hospital outside of Minneapolis and was reported to police after the child was treated and released.
O’Hara said three parishioners in their 80s also were shot. The injured were treated at HCMC and Children’s Minnesota.
Updates from hospitals
Children’s Minnesota said Thursday afternoon that one child remained hospitalized there but did not detail their condition. The hospital treated and released six other children.
Officials at HCMC said at a news conference Thursday morning that nine victims remained hospitalized there. Six were in satisfactory condition — five of them children. One adult and one child were in serious condition, and one child remained in critical condition.
Hospital officials gave few specific details on the injuries, citing patients’ privacy. They said four patients needed surgery; some had easier-to-treat injuries.
HCMC officials on Thursday thanked emergency responders for getting information on the shooting to the hospital quickly as the 911 calls came in. Trauma surgeon Jon Gayken said nurses and staff pitched in from around the hospital.
“Taking care of one child that’s injured is difficult. Eight of them is nearly impossible, but it happened yesterday,” Gayken said.
He shared the story of one nurse from another unit who came to help in the emergency department — and helped comfort one of the young shooting victims.
“She went into the CT scanner with the patient, putting herself basically in the harm’s way of radiation — which, normally, we’d evacuate the room,” Gayken said. “She put a little lead on and stayed there and held her hand and held her hair while she went through the scanner, so she didn’t have to go through it alone. Those are the types of things we witnessed yesterday.”
Hospital officials also noted that several of the nurses and paramedics have kids at Annunciation.
Other agencies helping Minneapolis police
Minneapolis police are getting help from other agencies in the wake of the shooting. Gov. Tim Walz’s office said Thursday that it deployed 14 state troopers and six DNR conservation officers to support police in Minneapolis, in response to a city request for more resources.
They’ll be assisting with patrol coverage and law enforcement visibility across the city, with an emphasis on schools and places of worship.
O’Hara said Thursday that his department is also getting help from the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and from police in neighboring cities — assistance he said Minneapolis is grateful to receive.
That’s in addition to state and federal agencies assisting with the investigation into Wednesday’s shooting.
School remains closed
Annunciation Catholic School remained closed on Thursday. It was supposed to have been another day of first-week-of-school activities for the kids at Annunciation. An online school calendar said it was going to be “Spirit Day” at the school, with a butterfly release for fifth-graders just after noon.
In a message to the school community, Principal Matthew DeBoer and Father Dennis Zehren said families will be contacted this weekend about when classes will resume, noting that investigators are still working on the Annunciation campus.
“We are navigating an impossible situation together at this time. No words can capture what we have gone through, what we are going through, and what we will go through in the coming days and weeks. But we will navigate this — together,” they wrote.
Annunciation Catholic School was founded in 1923. Julia Eubanks graduated from Annunciation’s middle school in 2014 and still lives a couple blocks away. She described its community as “so, so tight knit.”
“Everyone who’s gone there is completely tethered to that place for the rest of their lives in the most beautiful way,” she said. “There’s intergenerational friendships that I think really characterize our community and make it so beautiful.”
Westman scheduled a manifesto to publish on YouTube around the time of the shooting that O’Hara said “appeared to show him at the scene and included some disturbing writings.” The video was quickly taken down.
FBI director Kash Patel posted on social media Wednesday that his department was “investigating this shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.” When asked about this, O’Hara said Minneapolis was leading the investigation and had not determined a motive.
In several vigils through the evening Wednesday, people turned out to pay respects to Annunciation students, staff and community. Officials from President Donald Trump and Pope Leo XIV to members of Congress sent condolences and expressed frustration with another instance of school-based violence targeting young children.
Several prominent politicians, including Mayor Jacob Frey, have renewed calls for gun control legislation. Frey offered two measures could help stop these kinds of shootings.
“When we talk about action, we need to talk about the action steps that need to take place. We need a statewide and a federal ban on assault weapons. We need a statewide and a federal ban on high capacity magazines.”
The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus said in a statement they oppose both measures, saying those bans are unconstitutional and would not reduce crime.
They say lawmakers should focus on school safety and improving access to mental health resources.
The shooter used a rifle, pistol and shotgun, all purchased legally.
The Minneapolis Foundation, with the city, has set up a text-to-donate line: text ACF1 to 41444. The foundation says it will work with the Annunciation community in the coming days and weeks to distribute the funds to those affected.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
