A yet unnamed man shot into Mass at Annunciation Catholic school in Minneapolis on Wednesday, killing himself after killing two children and wounding 18 others.
According to Brian O’Hara, the Minneapolis Chief of Police, the shooter was armed with a rifle, a pistol, and a shotgun, which she used to shoot through the windows of the church into Mass. The church was then evacuated.
The two children who were killed, being eight and ten, attended Annunciation Catholic School. 18 remain injured, 15 among them children. Chief of Police O’Hara calls the event an “absolutely incomprehensible” act of “deliberate violence against innocent children and other people worshiping.”
Jesse Merkel, father to Fletcher Merkel, eight, read a statement on the front steps of the church the day after the shooting. “Please remember Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that ended his life,” Merkel said. Merkel remarked that Fletcher enjoyed fishing, cooking and playing sports, things that he won’t ever be able to do again with his family.
Harper Myoski, the other child killed, was ten. Her parents, in a statement, recalled her as a “bright, joyful, and deeply loved 10-year-old whose laughter, kindness, and spirit touched everyone who knew her.”
They encourage people to try and solve the societal problems that cause tragedies like this. “No family should ever have to endure this kind of pain,” Michael Moyski and Jackie Flavin said in a written statement to the press. “We urge our leaders and communities to take meaningful steps to address gun violence and the mental health crisis in this country.”
The shooter was identified as 23 year-old Robin Westman, daughter to Mary Grace Westman, as listed in her name change application from 2020, changing her name from Robert to Robin. In the application, Westman’s mother appealed to the judge, saying the petitioner “identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.”
Authorities say Westman did not have any previous criminal history or records of issues with mental health. Westman legally purchased weapons used to carry out the shooting shortly before.
Westman had journals where she described her ongoing struggle with mental health and depression, although never received support or help. They are streams of consciousness outlining her suicidal and homicidal thoughts.
Westman described her struggle in posted Youtube videos from four years ago that have since been removed by the platform. “I really just want a place to put my thoughts,” Westman said. “I can’t talk to a therapist or family cause I will immediately be reported and put on a watchlist!”
“I have a loving family and a good support system of people that want to see me thrive,” Westman wrote in her journal. “For some reason, the fact that I have a pretty good life and the fact that I want to kill people have never correlated for me.”
That being said, mental health commitments or diagnoses would have prevented Westman from purchasing firearms.
Students should not have to think about, nor be concerned with the threat of mass shootings. We now have regular lockdown drills in case something like this happens, and South Lakes students are now required to carry their student IDs on their person during the school day.
