Three people were killed and 19 others injured after a shooter stormed a Catholic church in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning, unleashing terror on dozens of school children.
Two children, 8 and 10, were killed in the pews they sat in before the attacker turned the gun on herself at the Annunciation Church in south Minneapolis.
The shooter has been identified as Robin Westman, formerly known as Robert. She was a transgender anti-Trump 23-year-old whose mother worked at the school she attacked.
At a news conference, Minneapolis’ Democratic mayor Jacob Frey said hatred toward the transgender community must not be tolerated in the wake of the massacre. ‘Anybody who is using this as an opportunity to villainize our trans community or any other community out there has lost their sense of common humanity,’ he said.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the Bureau would be investigating the tragedy as an ‘act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.’
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the gunman, dressed in black and armed with a shotgun, rifle, and pistol, fired all three weapons in what he called ‘a deliberate act of violence.’ At least 16 children ages six to fifteen were rushed to nearby hospitals to be treated for their injuries, but they are expected to recover.