Police: Minneapolis killer had deranged fascination with mass shooters
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The first of the two children shot and killed in yesterday’s school shooting in Minnesota has been named as Fletcher Merkel, aged 8. His father gave an emotional statement to reporters on Thursday afternoon.
Robin Westman, 23, was identified as the shooter who fired through the stained-glass windows at the church next to Annunciation Catholic School around 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, as students were celebrating Mass at the start of the academic year.
In addition to Fletcher, another child aged 10 was killed, while 18 others, including 15 children and three parishioners in their 80s, were injured.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Thursday afternoon that 116 rifle rounds were recovered at the site but that a specific motive has not yet been identified.
However, on a video posted to YouTube, the shooter flips through the pages of a journal written using Cyrillic letters, referred to by authorities as a “manifesto”, and expresses a desire to attack “a large group of kids,” according to an analysis by BBC Verify.
The suspect also expressed a desire to “catch a big assembly on the first day of school,” avoid parents because they could be armed, and have the ability to fire indiscriminately.
Read the full statement given by Jessie Merkel, father of eight-year-old Fletcher Merkel
“Yesterday, a coward decided to take our 8-year-old son Fletcher away from us. Because of their 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.
“Fletcher loved his family, friends, fishing, cooking, and any sports he was allowed to play.
“While the whole in our lives will never be filled in hope that in time our family can find healing. I pray that the other victims’ families can find some semblance of the same.
“I am hopeful that the wounded are able to make a full recovery and return home to their families, and finally, all the people, especially the children, impacted by this horrific event are able to recover mentally and find the strength to live loving, happy, and full lives.
“Over the past day, I have heard many stories recounting the swift and heroic actions of children and adults alike from inside the church. Without these people and their selfless actions, this could have been a tragedy of many magnitudes more. For these people, I am thankful.
“Moving forward, we ask not for your sympathy but your empathy as our family and the Annunciation community grieve and try to make sense of such a senseless act of violence.
“Please remember Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that ended his life. Give your kids an extra hug and kiss today. We love you, Fletcher. You’ll always be with us.”
Oliver O’Connell28 August 2025 22:27
RFK Jr. uses Minneapolis church shooting to push his latest health initiative
Eric Garcia reports on what Kennedy said and the furious response from Senator Tina Smith.
Oliver O’Connell28 August 2025 22:20
Eight-year-old victim identified
Fletcher Merkel, 8, has been identified as one of the two children killed in Wednesday’s mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School.
His father, Jessie Merkel, spoke to reporters about the loss of his son.
He said he hopes all of the people, especially the children, impacted by this event are able to recover mentally.
“Yesterday a coward decided to take our 8-year-old son Fletcher away from us … Please remember Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that ended his life. Give your kids an extra hug and kiss today. We love you, Fletcher. You’ll always be with us.”
Oliver O’Connell28 August 2025 22:14
Today’s latest developmentsA 23-year-old identified as Robin Westman opened fire at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis on Wednesday morning, killing two children aged eight and 10, and injuring 18 others, including 15 children. The shooter posted a video “manifesto” online, which the FBI is investigating as an act of domestic terrorism driven by a hate-filled ideology, containing racial slurs, antisemitic messages, and a death threat against Donald Trump. Journal entries in the manifesto revealed plans to attack a large group of children on the first day of school, and the firearms used, including a rifle, shotgun, and pistol, were recently purchased. The shooting prompted calls from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Minnesota Democratic lawmakers, including Rep. Ilhan Omar, for state and federal bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines. The community expressed trauma and resilience, with ongoing prayers for the injured, and state law enforcement deployed to support public safety efforts around schools and places of worship.
Oliver O’Connell28 August 2025 22:00
In pictures: State lawmakers call for assault weapons ban
Minnesota lawmakers were joined by members of the clergy and gun control advocacy groups at Minneapolis City Hall on Thursday to call for federal and state bans on assault weapons and high-capacity magazines in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School on Wednesday.
“There is no reason that someone should be able to reel off 30 shots before they even have to reload,” Minnesota Mayor Jacob Frey said. “We’re not talking about your father’s hunting rifle here. We’re talking about guns that are built to pierce armor and kill people.” (AP)
Rep. Ilhan Omar said: ‘I know that in America, we are people of faith, because these babies that were gunned down were actually kneeling in prayer. But what I do not know is why, uniquely in America, we have the capacity to not change what we know we can.’ (AP)
Minnesota State Rep. Emma Greenman lent her voice to calls for gun control in the aftermath of the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School. (AP)
Oliver O’Connell28 August 2025 21:43
Nurse mom of Minnesota shooting victim was working in ICU when wounded daughter arrived
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.
Oliver O’Connell28 August 2025 21:24
Shooter wanted to kill ‘defenseless children’ and was familiar with layout of church
At today’s press conference, the authorities said it is still unclear why the shooter decided to attack the Annunciation Catholic School and church, with Minneapolis Police Chief Biran O’Hara telling reporters: “We have not found a specific trigger for why to target the children at this church.”
However, in “hundreds of pages of writings,” it was clear that the shooter “wanted to kill children, defenseless children,” according to U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joe Thompson.
Further, the shooter did attend the school, and his mother worked for the parish, so there was a familiarity with the target and when it might be at its most vulnerable.
Chillingly, in a diary seen on a since-removed YouTube video that the shooter posted, plans for an attack on the church are laid out in detail, The New York Post reports.
They include a diagram of the church and how the shooter found the date and time of an all-school mass from a publicly posted schedule on the school’s website.
“I went to that school so I know the layout. I don’t think I really need to do that much recon at the start of the school,” the shooter wrote, even adding which parking spot to use and noting that there would likely be no one to fight back, only “old people and some mom-aged ladies, some with very young kids.”
Oliver O’Connell28 August 2025 21:04
Uvalde families sent wreath in memory of victims
A wreath of flowers was left at a makeshift memorial on behalf of the families of victims of the Robb Elementary School school shootings in Uvalde, Texas, in 2022.
Families of the victims of the Uvalde school shooting sent a wreath of flowers in support of the Annunciation Catholic School community following yesterday’s shooting. (AP)
The message reads: ‘We get it. With love, Uvalde’ (AP)
Another wreath was sent by the Apalachee High School moms — the high school in Winder, Georgia, was the site of a 2024 mass shooting that saw two students and two teachers killed.
Flowers were also left on behalf of the Apalachee High School moms (AP)Watch: Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey calls for ban on assault weapons
Oliver O’Connell28 August 2025 20:39
‘The shooter clearly hated all of us’
At today’s press conference, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said 116 rifle rounds were found at the scene of the shooting, along with one live round from a handgun and three shotgun shells.
O’Hara said that the handgun “appears to have malfunctioned as the shooter attempted to use it and became stuck in the chamber.”
Four search warrants were executed on Wednesday, and among the hundreds of pieces of evidence recovered are electronic devices that will now be processed for analysis.
All evidence will be followed to its logical conclusion. Police say they continue to work toward establishing a specific motive.
“What we can say so far is that this is an individual who, unfortunately, like so many other mass shooters in this country and around the world, had some deranged fascination with previous mass shooters and very disturbing writings toward many individuals and groups of people,” said O’Hara. “And he fantasized about the plans of other mass shooters. Unfortunately, this has become all too common in our society.”
“That being said, we know ultimately the purpose of the shooter’s actions was to obtain notoriety for the shooter themselves. That being said, I have only said the shooter’s name once, and I ask members of the media to stop using the shooter’s name. That was the whole purpose of why he did this heinous act, to obtain notoriety for themselves.”
The Acting U.S. Attorney for the District of Minnesota, Joe Thompson, added that the shooter acted alone and the threat died with the shooter.
On investigating the motive, Thompson said the shooter left behind hundreds of pages of writings describing their plans, mental state, and hate “toward almost every group imaginable.”
“In short, the shooter clearly hated all of us. The shooter’s heart was full of hate,” he said, adding that the only group the shooter admired was other school shooters and mass murderers.
More than anything, the shooter “wanted to kill children, defenseless 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.
Oliver O’Connell28 August 2025 20:30