Annunciation Church and School shooting: Everything we know so far

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Two children were killed and 18 other people were injured in a shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning. 

Here's everything we know about the shooting, the victims, the survivors, the suspect and the motive:

Annunciation mass shooting: What happened

The backstory:

At 8:27 a.m. on Aug. 27, the first 911 calls came in about the shooting and several law enforcement agencies responded to a report of a shooting at the Annunciation Church and Catholic School in south Minneapolis. 

A shooter dressed in black approached the outside of the church and opened fire through the stained-glass windows toward children sitting in the pews during mass on their first week back at school. 

The shooter was armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, and shot off more than 100 rounds. O'Hara said police recovered three shotgun shells and 116 rifle rounds, as well as one live round that was recovered from a handgun that appears to have malfunctioned. Authorities do not believe the shooter ever entered the church before the shooter died by suicide in the parking lot.

First responders arrived at the scene at 8:31 a.m. and rescued children hiding throughout the church. O'Hara said an officer ran into the church with no helmet or gear.

"The parishioner later told me that was the first time that he, the children and others there had any sense that they might be safe and survive," O'Hara said of the officer running into the church. 

There were 20 victims as a result of the shooting. Two children, 8 and 10, were fatally shot. Another 15 children, between the ages of 6 and 15, were injured by gunfire. Three adults in their 80s who were attending mass were also shot.

Previously, authorities said 14 children were injured in the shooting but officials revised that number to 15 on Thursday morning. O'Hara said on Thursday the child victim, who was identified as the 15th young victim, was taken by private vehicle to a hospital outside the Twin Cities. Police did not receive the report about the child until after the child was treated for a "graze wound" and released. 

Read more: Annunciation School shooting: Emergency audio reveals medical response, injuries

All the remaining victims are expected to survive, O'Hara said on Wednesday.

Hennepin Healthcare said Thursday evening it is now caring for seven patients.  Four children are in satisfactory condition. Two people — one child and one adult — are in serious condition, and one child is in critical condition. 

Meanwhile, Children's Hospital, which was caring for seven patients, said six children had been discharged. As of Thursday evening, it continues to care for one child.

Annunciation shooting victims: Who were they? 

The victims:

Information about the victims and survivors is starting to be released. Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed. Fifteen children ranging in ages from 6-15 were injured in the shooting, as well as three worshipers in their 80s.

Here's what we know so far:

Harper Moyski killed in Annunciation shooting

Harper Moyski, 10, has been identified as one of the children fatally shot in the Annunciation Church and School mass shooting. 

Her family, Michael Moyski and Jackie Flavin, released a statement on Thursday that partially read as follows:

"We are devastated to share that our beloved daughter, Harper Moyski, was tragically killed in the recent school shooting. Harper was a bright, joyful, and deeply loved 10-year-old whose laughter, kindness, and spirit touched everyone who knew her."

Read the full statement here.

Fletcher Merkel killed in Annunciation shooting

Fletcher Merkel, 8, died in the Annunciation shooting on Wednesday. His father, Jesse Merkel, spoke outside Annunciation on Thursday, saying, "Please remember Fletcher for the person he was, not the act that ended his life."

The Merkels had four children, including Fletcher. Jesse Merkel's two older children were also in the chapel but were not physically hurt, while his youngest child is not of school age yet. 

Victor, who protected his friend Weston, hurt in Annunciation shooting

Victor and his sister were injured in the shooting at Annunciation, according to a GoFundMe set up by his uncle. 

"Victor is one of the brave victims who survived the tragedy that unfolded. His selfless acts help to save many, but he and his sister were injured in the process.  Vic, along with his family, have started the long journey of recovery. A journey that involves unknown and ongoing future medical costs," the GoFundMe page states.

His friend, Weston, spoke with FOX 9 on Wednesday, describing how his friend Victor protected him and was shot in the back.

The GoFundMe has raised more than $32,000 as of Thursday afternoon.

Sophia Forchas hurt in Annunciation shooting

Sophia Forchas was identified on GoFundMe and a post by St. Mary's Orthodox Church as a victim of the shooting. The 12-year-old is in critical condition. Her brother, who is also an Annunciation student, was not physically hurt in the shooting. 

Meanwhile, her mom is a pediatric critical care nurse who went to work to help before finding out the shooting happened at her children's school and her daughter was among the injured. 

The GoFundMe page has raised more than $150,000 as of Thursday morning.

READ MORE: Annunciation Church school shooting: What we know about the victims

Endre Gunter hurt in Annunciation shooting

Endre Gunter, a 13-year-old boy was hurt in the shooting, according to a GoFundMe organized on behalf of Danielle Gunter.

Danielle Gunter, the mother of an eighth-grade boy who was shot, released a statement on Wednesday saying, "Our hearts are shattered … Unlike others, we are blessed to hold onto him. We will help him rebuild his life, his trust, and his confidence."

You can read her full statement here.

According to the GoFundMe, Endre was rushed into surgery after being shot and is recovering at the hospital. 

The GoFundMe has raised $15,899 as of Thursday morning. 

Memorial for Annunciation victims: How you can help

What you can do:

There is a growing memorial at 54th and Lyndale, where people are placing flowers and messages of remembrance for the victims.

The City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Foundation have also established a text-to-donate line for people to donate money. You can text "ACF1" to 41444.

RELATED: Annunciation Church shooting: How you can help

The Minneapolis Foundation is hosting the fund and will work with Annunciation in the coming days to equitably distribute the funds raised to those impacted.

If you're looking to donate blood, do not call hospitals directly. Contact the American Red Cross. 

Annunciation shooter ‘wanted to watch children suffer’

What's new:

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara shared an update on Thursday on the shooter's motives, saying the shooter was filled with hate toward everyone except mass shooters.

The shooter had a "deranged fascination with previous mass shootings and very disturbing writings that demonstrate hatred towards many different individuals and different groups of people," O'Hara said, noting the shooter "fantasized about the plans of other mass shooters."

O'Hara said they know the shooter wanted to obtain notoriety for themselves and asked people to avoid naming the shooter.

Authorities continue to investigate the shooter's motive and the shooter's specific trigger for targeting the children at Annunciation. However, the shooter had attended mass at Annunciation previously and had attended the school. The shooter's mom was also an employee of the parish. O'Hara said authorities have not been able to contact the shooter's mother.

"So obviously there is a connection between that shooter and this particular parish and this school," O'Hara said. 

The shooter left behind hundreds of pages of writing describing the plan, mental state and hate, which included hate toward Black people, Mexican people, Christians, Jewish people, President Donald Trump and others, authorities said. 

"The shooter appeared to hate all of us. The shooter's heart was full of hate," U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said at Thursday's news conference, noting it appears the only group of people the shooter didn't hate were school shooters and mass murderers.

"More than anything, the shooter wanted to kill children, defenseless children. The shooter was obsessed with the idea of killing children. The shooter saw the attack as a way to target our most vulnerable among us while they were at their most vulnerable at school and at church," Thompson said. 

"The shooter wanted to watch children suffer," Thompson added.

Investigating the Annunciation shooting

The suspect:

The suspect, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the parking lot of the church. Police located what is believed to be the shooter's car and were searching it for further evidence on Wednesday.

FOX 9 has confirmed the shooter's mother previously worked at Annunciation. The suspect's mother also applied to change her child’s name from Robert to Robin in Dakota County in 2019, according to court documents obtained by FOX 9. The name change filing states that the 23-year-old identified "as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification."

O'Hara confirmed on Thursday that the shooter had attended mass an Annunciation previously and attended the school, so the shooter did have connections to Annunciation, but authorities are still investigating why the shooter targeted the school and church.

The investigation:

As part of the investigation, police say search warrants were being executed at the church and three other locations around the metro connected to the shooter, including in Minneapolis, St. Louis Park and Richfield. No additional firearms were recovered, and the guns used in the shooting were purchased legally. Police believe the shooter acted alone.

The FBI says it is investigating the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics. O'Hara says they haven't determined a motive, but the suspect did post a manifesto on YouTube, which has since been taken down. Authorities have also recovered hundreds of pages of evidence in which the shooter described hate for everyone except for mass shooters. 

"The shooter appeared to hate all of us. The shooter's heart was full of hate. There appears to be only one group that the shooter didn't hate. One group of people who the shooter admired. The group were the school shooters and mass murderers that are notorious in this country. The shooter idolized some of the most notorious school shooters and mass murderers in our country's history," U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said at a press conference on Thursday afternoon.

In an update earlier on Thursday, FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI continues to investigate the "barbaric attack," noting they have gathered evidence "demonstrating this was an act of domestic terrorism motivated by a hate-filled ideology."

Patel provided the following updates on the investigation into the shooter's motive:

• The shooter left multiple anti-Catholic, anti-religious references both in the suspect's manifesto and written on the suspect's firearms.
• The shooter expressed hatred and violence toward Jewish people, writing "Israel must fall," "Free Palestine," and using explicit language related to the Holocaust.
• The shooter wrote an explicit call for violence against President Trump on a firearm magazine.

Patel said the investigation is ongoing, and the FBI will "employ all of our counter-terror tools to ensure this is fully investigated and deterred."

History of Annunciation Catholic School 

Local perspective:

Dating to 1923, the pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade school had an all-school Mass scheduled at 8:15 a.m. Wednesday morning, according to its website. Monday was the first day of school. Recent social media posts from the school show children smiling at a back-to-school event, holding up summer art projects, playing together and enjoying ice pops.

In the 2023-24 school year, there were 391 students enrolled at Annunciation.

Annunciation is located on the 500 block of West 54h Street in south Minneapolis, near the intersection of 54th Street and Lyndale. 

Dig deeper:

Read more about the Annunciation mass shooting:

• What we know so far - Aug. 28 updates
• What we know about the victims
• What’s known about shooting suspect Robin Westman
• Victim recalls ‘super scary’ attack during mass
• Emergency audio reveals medical response, injuries
• How you can help