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Minnesota School Shooting Kills Two Children, Seventeen Others Injured

BY Guy D. McCardle

The Minneapolis school shooting left two children dead, seventeen others wounded, and an entire community shattered in minutes.

A woman and her son comfort one another after a mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis. Image Credit: Richard Tsong-Taatarii/Star Tribune via AP

Morning Hellscape

It was barely 8:30 a.m. CDT on August 27, 2025, when the protective peace of Annunciation Catholic Church in south Minneapolis evaporated into shattered stained glass and gunfire. A man (if you care to call him that) identified by multiple sources as Robin M. Westman, in his early 20s, with no known criminal past, stood outside that venerable brick sanctuary and unleashed a symphony of death with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol through windows where children knelt in prayer. 

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This is one of the worst acts of violence one human can commit against another. It was a massacre in a house of worship, a twisted assault on innocence.

Carnage

Westman, the apparent/alleged perpetrator, arrived with no headline-grabbing criminal rap sheet—just a silent determination. Surveillance, forensics, and terrified recollections confirm he acted alone, opening fire into pews packed with young parishioners. Moments later, after slaughtering two children—an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old—he turned the gun on himself, ending the nightmare in a murder-suicide.

Innocents in the Line of Fire

The body count is grim:

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  • Fatalities: two children, ages 8 and 10, killed during morning Mass.
  • Injured: At least 17 people, including 14 children and three adults. Among them, at least two children remain in critical condition.

Hospitals scrambled to deal with the carnage. Children’s Minnesota took in five children; Hennepin County Medical Center handled eleven patients—nine children and two adults—with four requiring surgery. Emergency dispatch audio spoke of toddlers with gunshot wounds to the head, children slipping in and out of consciousness, frantic medics struggling to preserve futures that might never be.

Timeline

The shooting struck at Annunciation Catholic School and Church, located at 509 W. 54th Street in Minneapolis, a usually quiet residential area, during the first school‑year Mass just days after classes began. It was a sacred ritual turned slaughter—children praying, their voices raised in innocent devotion, then came the screams.

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Just before 8:30 a.m. CDT, a man dressed in black, armed with a rifle, shotgun, and pistol, began firing from outside the church, shooting through the stained-glass windows at the children and worshippers inside.

Witnesses reported the shooter fired between 50 and 100 rounds before taking his own life in the parking lot.

Police and emergency responders arrived immediately, providing first aid and evacuating children and adults who were hiding throughout the building. Tragically, two children, aged 8 and 10, were killed where they sat in the pews, and 17 others were injured, including 14 children, with several in critical condition.

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Families were directed to the school for reunification and support. Authorities confirmed there was no ongoing threat to public safety, and the FBI and other agencies joined the investigation.

By 10:29 a.m. EST, the city issued an all-clear announcement. The event shook the community deeply, with officials expressing grief and mobilizing support for the victims and their families, highlighting the cruel nature of this deliberate act of violence against innocent children and worshippers.

Final Act

Choosing to take a cowardly exit, Westman ended his own life—a third body added to the tally.

This twisted individual of unknown motivation delivered his sermon in lead and blood before pulling the trigger on himself, leaving grief, shock, and a community collapsing in its wake.

Increase Your Odds to Survive the Madness: What Every Reader Needs to Know

There are no guarantees here. There are no guarantees in life in general. But if you do find yourself in a mass shooting scenario, there are actions you can take to improve your odds of survival.

I’ve written about this before, but it’s extremely important to know, so I’ll go over it again. If you have a loved one you want to protect, share this article with them or share the tips I’m about to tell you. If you have children, share the information with them at their level of understanding. Make a game of it; there is no need to frighten them. We don’t want them to be afraid to go to school.

Let me share with you what former Navy SEAL Marcus Luttrell has had to say about fear.

Fear is a force that sharpens your senses. Being Afraid is a state of paralysis in which you can’t do anything. 

You don’t need to be a combat veteran to survive an active shooter. But you do need to think like one. The golden rule in any active shooter situation is this: run, hide, fight—in that order.

If there’s a clean escape, take it without hesitation. Move to safety as fast as you can. For the love of God, don’t stop to film what’s going on. This isn’t a day at the beach.

And don’t wait for someone to tell you it’s okay to move. When it’s “go time” and the rounds are flying, you are the only one in charge of your destiny. Don’t try to be a hero. If you are with someone else (kids, a friend, etc.), grab them, say firmly, “follow me,” and get the hell out of the kill zone.

Remember, it’s much harder for a gunman (even a trained marksman) to hit a moving target than a stationary one. 

If running isn’t possible, your next move is to hide—lock doors, barricade with whatever’s available, silence your phone, and go completely silent. Make yourself a ghost. If the shooter finds you and there’s no other way out, it’s fight time. You use anything and everything: fire extinguishers, chairs, pens, even your fists. Go for the eyes, the throat, the knees. Commit. Half-measures will get you killed. There are no rules here, only one last chance at survival.

Know This Before the Rounds Fly

Not all hiding spots are created equal. What I’m about to tell you might save your life. Memorize it.

Concealment hides you from sight—it might keep a shooter from seeing you, but it won’t stop a bullet. Think curtains, cubicles, potted plants. This is plan B. Many bodies have been recovered from active shooter scenarios when victims chose concealment over cover.

Cover, on the other hand, can save your life. Concrete walls, heavy desks, filing cabinets, engine blocks—these can eat rounds and keep you breathing. If you’re stuck, stack materials between you and the threat. Go low, stay behind hard angles, and always assume the shooter knows the building better than you do.

If You’re Trapped in the Kill Zone

If you’re locked in with no way out, think proactively. Barricade the entry point. Shut off the lights. Text 911 if you can—whispering won’t do if you’re ten feet from death. Spread out if you’re in a group. Don’t cluster together like grapes on the vine. Keep calm, listen, and be ready to act. Law enforcement will eventually breach…it will seem like forever. When they do, don’t make sudden moves. Keep your hands visible, follow commands, and stay alert to the possibility that more threats could remain. You’re not safe until you are safe.

When It’s All Over

Once the shooting stops, the trauma doesn’t. Adrenaline crashes. Shock sets in. Some people shut down, others spiral. Seek help. Even if you weren’t hit, your nervous system took a hit. Talk to someone. Rehearse what you did right—and what you’d do differently next time. Because sadly, there may be a next time.

Remember: When the hammer drops, it’s not the loudest person in the room who lives—it’s the one who’s already halfway to the exit.

 

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