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The mother of the shooter who opened fire at a Minneapolis Catholic school during Mass on Wednesday is not cooperating with investigators as they try to determine what led to the tragic events that left two children dead and 18 others injured, including 15 children.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said dozens of interviews have been conducted with the shooter’s relatives, friends and associates, as well as those who witnessed the carnage unfold at Annunciation Catholic Church.
“I know we have not been successful in talking to the shooter’s mother, yet, at this time,” O’Hara said during a news conference Thursday. “But there continue to be efforts made to get that done.”
Court documents show the shooter’s mother, Mary Grace Westman, applied for her son to legally change his name, writing in 2019, “minor identifies as female and wants her name to reflect the identification.”
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Flowers and other offerings sit at an intersection near the Annunciation Catholic Church, which is home to an elementary school and was the scene of a shooting in Minneapolis on Wednesday. (Tim Evans/Reuters)
It is not clear why the shooter’s mother is not cooperating with investigators.
When asked by a reporter on Thursday if investigators had been in touch with the shooter’s father, O’Hara initially said he could not confirm that.
But the chief briefly had a side conversation with Drew Evans, the superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, who said his investigators had been in touch with the father.
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Tim Barr prays near the Annunciation Catholic Church on Thursday in Minneapolis, the day after a school shooting there. (Abbie Parr/AP Photo)
Still, investigators have not yet said whether the shooter, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, lived with his mother or father, noting that there are three addresses associated with the individual.
“I can’t verify right now which residence he was staying at, immediately prior to the shooting, but that’s obviously something that will come with the investigation as it continues,” O’Hara said.
The chief noted that the shooter attended Mass at the church while attending the school attached to the place of worship.
“The shooter’s mother was an employee of the parish previously, for some time,” O’Hara said. “So, obviously there is a connection between the shooter and this particular parish.”
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Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara stands outside the Annunciation Catholic School following a mass shooting, Wednesday, in Minneapolis. (Bruce Kluckhohn/AP)
At around 8:30 a.m., the suspect fired dozens of rounds into the church, shattering stained-glass and pew-side windows as terrified students and parishioners ducked for cover.
Authorities have not yet released a motive, though they have uncovered a manifesto the shooter had timed to be released on YouTube. The video has since been taken down and is under investigation.
The manifesto, police added, appeared to show Westman at the scene and included disturbing writings.
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FBI Director Kash Patel said Thursday the agency’s investigation into the “barbaric” attack suggests the attack was an act of domestic terrorism “motivated by a hate-filled ideology.”
He noted that the manifesto and writings on firearms displayed anti-Catholic and anti-religious references.
Specifically, the shooter expressed hatred and violence toward Jewish people and wrote things like “Israel must fall,” “Free Palestine” and used explicit language related to the Holocaust, Patel said.