Minneapolis school shooting latest: Robin Westman ‘wanted to watch children suffer’

Police say locked church doors likely saved “countless lives” during the Minneapolis school shooting in which two children were killed and 17 others injured at Annunciation Catholic School.

The shooter, Robin Westman, 23, fired through church windows after failing to enter the building, leaving behind writings showing a “deranged fascination”, according to police chief Brian O’Hara.

The shooter had not been able to get inside due to the locked doors, Mr O’Hara said.

He said the shooter’s writings revealed hatred for “almost every group imaginable.”

Acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, Joe Thompson, added that the attacker was “obsessed” with killing children.

“I won’t dignify the shooter’s words by repeating them,” he said. “They are horrific and vile, but in short, the shooter wanted to watch children suffer.”

Mayor Jacob Frey has urged immediate gun reform, saying “thoughts and prayers are not going to cut it” and calling for a statewide and federal ban on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines.

He said: “Thoughts and prayers are not going to cut it. It’s on all of us to see this through… We need to talk about the action and steps that need to take place.

“We need a statewide and a federal ban on assault weapons. We need a statewide and a federal ban on high-capacity magazines.

“There is no reason that someone should be able to reel off 30 shots before they even have to reload. We’re not talking about your father’s hunting rifle gear.

“We’re talking about guns that are built to pierce armour and kill people.”

Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said many officers who responded to the school shooting are “deeply affected” and “overwhelmed with the horrors” they witnessed inside the church.

“It wasn’t just all of the children that were injured; there were lots of kids who had blood on them,” O’Hara said.

“And they are trying to determine who was injured, who wasn’t, who had blood on their clothes because it was the blood of another student.”

“It’s difficult just to try and deal with addressing the threat and ensuring there is no other threats to the children, trying to rescue them, trying to provide first aid, triage and care for those who are most seriously injured, while at the same time handing gauze and asking a child, ‘Here, just please hold this on the wound,’ as they are trying to transport and get help to these kids as quickly as possible,” O’Hara said.

The families of two children killed in the church shooting in Minneapolis paid emotional tributes to the kids.

Father of eight-year-old Fletcher Merkel, Jesse Merkel said: “Yesterday, a coward decided to take our eight-year-old son Fletcher away from us. We will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming.

“Fletcher loved his family, friends, fishing, cooking and any sport that he was allowed to play,” Merkel added. “I hope that in time, our family can find healing.”

Another victim, 10-year-old Harper Moyski’s family – her parents, Michael Moyski and Jackie Flavin – also shared a heartfelt message.“Harper was a bright, joyful, and deeply loved 10-year-old whose laughter, kindness, and spirit touched everyone who knew her.

“Our hearts are broken not only as parents, but also for Harper’s sister, who adored her big sister and is grieving an unimaginable loss,” the statement said.

“As a family, we are shattered, and words cannot capture the depth of our pain.

“No family should ever have to endure this kind of pain. We urge our leaders and communities to take meaningful steps to address gun violence and the mental health crisis in this country,” the family added.

“Change is possible, and it is necessary—so that Harper’s story does not become yet another in a long line of tragedies.”

The mother of Sophia Forchas, one of the 15 children injured in Wednesday’s deadly shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school, is a nurse in the pediatric intensive care unit who was working at the hospital the morning when her daughter and others began arriving for emergency treatment.

“Her mother, a Pediatric Critical Care nurse, arrived at work to help during the tragedy, before knowing it was her children’s school that was attacked, and that her daughter was critically injured,” according to a GoFundMe page that lists Forchas’ father Thomas as an organizer.

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After seeing a visibly distressed child about to undergo a CT scan following Wednesday’s shooting, a nurse at Hennepin County Medical Center sat with her throughout the procedure despite the danger of radiation exposure.

Safety protocols stipulate that medical staff should clear the room to prevent radiation exposure.

The nurse “put a little lead on, stayed there and held her hand and held her hair while she went through scanners so she didn’t have to go through alone,” Dr. Jon Gayken, one of the head trauma surgeons at Hennepin County Medical Center, said.

Several medical first responders — many of whom were stationed just blocks away from the church — have children enrolled at the Catholic school, officials announced on Thursday.

“Those are the types of things we witnessed yesterday,” Gayken added.

The two children who were killed in Wednesday’s attack have now been named by their families.

Eight-year-old Fletcher Merkel was described by his father in an emotional statement on Thursday as a kid who “loved his family, friends, fishing, cooking, and any sports he was allowed to play.”

“Because of [the shooter’s] actions, we will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him, and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming,” Jesse Merkel said.

Shortly after, 10-year-old Harper Moyski was named in a statement shared on her parents’ behalf.

“Harper was a bright, joyful, and deeply loved 10-year-old whose laughter, kindness, and spirit touched everyone who knew her,” the statement from Michael Moyski and Jackie Flavin read, per CNN.

“Our hearts are broken not only as parents, but also for Harper’s sister, who adored her big sister and is grieving an unimaginable loss. As a family, we are shattered, and words cannot capture the depth of our pain.”

While police previously described the writings of shooter Robin Westman as a “manifesto,” a close review by CNN found that the hand-written entries appeared to be more of a jumbled, stream-of-consciousness than any coherent plan or declaration of purpose.

“This is not a church or religion attack, that is not the message,” Westman wrote. “The message is there is no message.”

The shooter added: “I really just want a place to put my thoughts… I can’t talk to a therapist or family cause I will immediately be reported and put on a watchlist!”Westman had suffered from depression, as well as suicidal and homicidal thoughts for years, per CNN.