A gunman opened fire on children attending a church service in Minneapolis on Wednesday, killing two young students and wounding 17 others in a devastating attack that unfolded during the first week of school.

The shooting took place at Annunciation Church, which is located next to its affiliated Catholic school in Minnesota’s largest city. Children had gathered for a Mass marking the beginning of the school year when the suspect began firing into the church through its windows, authorities said.

“Two young children, ages eight and 10, were killed where they sat in the pews,” said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. He added that 14 other children and three elderly parishioners were also injured in the gunfire.

The shooter used a rifle, shotgun and pistol in the attack before taking his own life in the church parking lot, police said. All weapons had been legally purchased.

One 10-year-old survivor described narrowly escaping death thanks to a friend.

“I just ran under the pew, and then I covered my head,” he told CBS. “My friend Victor saved me though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit.”

FBI investigating as hate crime, domestic terrorism

FBI Director Kash Patel said federal authorities are investigating the shooting as “an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.”

Patel identified the shooter as “Robin Westman, a male born as Robert Westman.” According to court records, Westman, 23, legally changed their name in 2020 and identified as female.

In a post on X, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the shooter was “claiming to be transgender” and called the attack “unthinkable.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey urged the public not to scapegoat transgender people in the aftermath of the tragedy and highlighted broader concerns about gun violence in America.

“Anybody who is using this... as an opportunity to villainize our trans community, or any other community out there has lost their sense of common humanity,” Frey told reporters.

“We've got more guns in this country than we have people, and it's on all of us to recognize the truth and the reality that we can't just say that this shouldn't happen again and then allow it to happen again and again.”

Shooter linked to school, posted manifesto

U.S. media outlets reported that Westman had previously been a student at the affiliated Catholic school. Authorities also said the shooter had posted disturbing content online in the days leading up to the attack.

O’Hara said a “multi-page manifesto appeared to show him at the scene and included some disturbing writings and content has since been taken down.”

Witnesses described chaos and terror as the attacker, wearing black clothing and a ski mask, opened fire inside the church. Children hid in pews as bullets tore through the building.

Video from the scene showed frantic parents running from the area with their children, many of whom wore school uniforms consisting of green polo shirts.

National mourning and political divide

The attack drew swift condemnation and messages of grief from across the country.

President Donald Trump ordered U.S. flags at the White House to be flown at half-staff in honor of the victims. Pope Leo XIV, the first American to lead the Catholic Church, said he was “profoundly saddened” by the tragedy.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz called on Americans to consider how such acts of violence might be prevented in the future.

“We must do the best we can, to understand what we can do to prevent any parent from having to receive the calls they received today,” he said.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been at least 287 mass shootings so far this year in the U.S., defined as incidents with at least four people shot, excluding the perpetrator. In 2024, more than 16,700 people were killed in gun-related incidents, not including suicides.

Among the deadliest school shootings in recent history was the 2022 massacre in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 children and two teachers were killed by an 18-year-old gunman.