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Police are still investigating what motivated a shooter to kill two children and injure 18 other people on Wednesday at Annunciation Catholic School and Church. Search warrants made public on Thursday and Friday show officers collected many rounds of live ammunition and three firearms in the aftermath of the mass shooting.
Minneapolis Chief Brian O’Hara has said more lives would have been lost if the doors to the church hadn’t been locked.
“The shooter was never able to get inside of the church,” O’Hara said. “We think that action in and of itself, in addition to what we will believe will be countless stories of heroism, from children, from staff members, from parishioners — all of that combined, ensured this tragedy was not far worse.”
An affidavit filed by a Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigator reports that they responded to an active shooter call at Annunciation at 8:28 a.m. The suspect was described as wearing a mask and tactical body armor.
Behind the church, agents found Robin Westman deceased, with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. “The individual was dressed in black and had magazine pouches on a belt around him,” according to the affidavit. “A shotgun and rifle were in close proximity to the body.”
They also found a 2x4 piece of wood with what appeared to be smoke canisters attached to it. A metal pull pin was found nearby.
In addition to the dozens of bullet casings found at the scene — O’Hara has said 116 rifle rounds were fired — investigators found a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun and scope, a Mossberg pump-action shotgun, a semi-automatic rifle and a pivot knife.
Inside the church agents found 18 people injured and two children, Fletcher Merkel and Harper Moyski, dead. The affidavit catalogs a grisly scene containing dozens of bullet fragments, blood stains and a green school uniform.
Investigators also obtained video from security cameras on the outside of the building that captured at least a portion of the shooting.
In the parking lot, investigators discovered a gray Dodge Ram with Minnesota plates, which they traced to a man with a Minneapolis address. Inside the car was an iPhone and firearm cases. Investigators with Minneapolis police and the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension went to the house and spoke with James Westman, who told them Robin Westman was his child.
According to the search warrant affidavit, James Westman told police Robin Westman had lived at an address in Richfield, but moved in with a friend in St. Louis Park after breaking up with a romantic partner. James Westman also told police that Robin Westman had formerly attended Annunciation and that his ex-wife, Robin Westman’s mother, had also worked at the church.
At 11:55 a.m., an investigator conducted a search of James Westman’s home and found a tactical vest with “various attachments not related to law enforcement/security,” two external media storage devices and miscellaneous documents.
O’Hara said searches of residences in the Twin Cities have turned up several electronic devices and hundreds of pages of writing expressing hatred against many groups.
“The public expects law enforcement to provide some explanation for what happened. But the reality is, this is an unthinkable, completely senseless act, violence perpetrated against children worshiping at Mass,” O’Hara said. “No investigation, no evidence, will ever be able to make sense of such an unthinkable tragedy.”
U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson said on Thursday that investigators have been poring over documents that describe the shooter’s plan, mental state and hate for “almost every group manageable.”
English (US) ·