MN- Minneapolis, mass shooting at church, multiple fatalities, possible explosive device found. Aug 2025

[Synergizer Bunny]

You mentioned that additional firearms were recovered from the residences that are related to the shooter - plural. So did the shooter have more than one residence ?

IIRC, at the press conference, they said that they searched three homes in the area. I was assuming it may have been relatives? I think that RW had an apartment at one time; however, I'm not sure where s/he was living at the time.

JMO.

 

[Fraize]

Yet another reminder that discussions of the alleged shooter being trans as a function of their behavior, or a refusal to respect their pronouns will not be tolerated on this forum. Final warning.

 

[Tricia]

Closing thread because people can't stop talking about the trans issue. We need to clean it up. We may or may not reopen. We will respect the pronoun. There is no need to discuss the pronoun issue any further.

 

[Tricia]

The thread is open again. Please use "They" if you must use a pronoun. Do not discuss the trans or pronoun issue. This is about a horrible story where innocent children were murdered. Please do not derail the discussion with other topics.
Thank you
Tricia

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

I thought I recognized some sort of buddy system.

Lydia was also wounded while protecting her friend - her much younger 'little buddy' she was paired up with to help start the school year.

'Lydia is in very serious condition and has undergone an unimaginable surgery,' a fundraiser for her recovery read.

Her father, gym teacher Harry Kaiser, also heroically stayed inside he church to protect the students. He was luckily uninjured.

'He helped to secure the room, to keep children safe, and stuck with them all until they were reunited with their families, even while his daughter was entering the emergency room,' the fundraiser explained.

(more about the victims at link)

Vivi St Clair, 9, Endre Gunter, 13, Sophia Forchas, 12, Lydia Kaiser, and Victor, 10, survived the attack but were seriously injured and face long recoveries.

The eight-year-old who was killed in the shooting was identified by his parents as Fletcher Merkel.

Victims of Minneapolis shooter identified

Endre Gunter, 13, and Sophia Forchas, 12, are fighting for their lives in hospital after the shooter opened fire at the Annunciation Catholic School and Church.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Sundog]

Neighbor watched cops take Minneapolis shooter’s family from their home as ‘surreal’ connection to killer set in

Exclusive details: ‘This was not a family you would have thought this kind of thing would happen to,’ Jim White, who lives across the street from suspected shooter Robin Westman, told The Independent

www.yahoo.com

Here's a news report about the FBI going to the father's house.

Looks like the father lives near the Annunciation Church, where the shootings occurred and if I read the article correctly, it sounds like the father still attends the church regularly with his children (not sure who that includes, maybe children from his second marriage?).

 

[lonetraveler]

I didn't say they did, but the mayor putting a blanket disclaimer over people is not helping.
A lone shooter killed innocent kids.
That was my point about the link to the mayor including a community of people and not singling out the shooter, who apparently committed this heinous crime all by his lonesome.

The main takeaway from today's horrifying crime should be how to never allow this to happen again.

What about armed guards around schools and churches and bullet-proof windows.
Or take a look at bank and police station security measures.
I mention banks and other institutions that deal with amounts of cash, the security is in place to protect the money.
Of course, a child's life is worth more than any dollar amount.
Sounds impractical, but if it could save someone's child -- I say go for it.
Imo.

Like just wasn't enough for your post. You nailed it.

 

[Sundog]

IIRC, at the press conference, they said that they searched three homes in the area. I was assuming it may have been relatives? I think that RW had an apartment at one time; however, I'm not sure where s/he was living at the time.

JMO.

So I found an article that I just posted saying that the father and stepmother of the killer lives near the church. So perhaps the three residences that were searched include the killer's apartment, the father's home, and the Florida condo belonging to the mother? But that last residence/condo isn't nearby. In any event, the Director of the FBI, Kash Patel, has stated that they will provide more information as their investigation continues, so at some point we should no more.

 

[lonetraveler]

The killer really was a despicable human being. A poisonous person who refused to deal with their own problems and chose to take out their misplaced anger on innocent children. It doesn’t get much worse than that. Never should have had access to those weapons.

Prayers for the children and the poor victims. I hope everyone has help in healing from this tragedy, including all parents who fear sending their children to school every day. Let’s vow to finally put an end to these crimes for good. It can be done.

This person really needed serious mental health care. That is very evident.

 

[FoxxTraxx]

Health care professionals undoubtedly saved lives. Please note that blood donations are urgently needed in the Minneapolis area.

Minneapolis hospital did the 'nearly impossible' as shooting victims flooded the ER​

USA Today 8/28/25 Minneapolis Shooting Response.

 

[Chimera]

Health care professionals undoubtedly saved lives. Please note that blood donations are urgently needed in the Minneapolis area.

Minneapolis hospital did the 'nearly impossible' as shooting victims flooded the ER​

USA Today 8/28/25 Minneapolis Shooting Response.

Kudos to our health care providers and LE in this horrifying event !
A lot of trauma to have to treat.
Not to mention the emotional toll on first responders as well.
They are Heroes !!
Imo.

 

[mickey2942]

I find it a little odd no one's mentioned the shooter's father. The mother seems to be newsworthy but have LE spoken to his father? Does the murderer's father have anything to say about all this?

It seems to me, that so many families now, the father has "checked out". Not all, but a majority of homes where kids live with their Mom, the Dad has little to no contact with kids.

I don't have statistics on this, and yes, there are Divorced Dads that are actively involved in their children's lives.

 

[lonetraveler]

<Snipped by me>

The shooter was anti-Christian, that's why the shooter chose to kill Catholic Christian children.

Too bad the Catholic Christian School didn't have an armed guard at the door.

 

[Tricia]

Is information from the director of the US FBI Kash Patel, an approved source for information on this case?

Yes.

 

[lonetraveler]

This is exactly why I asked if info from the director of the FBI is an approved source.

You would think so.

 

[Sundog]

Too bad the Catholic Christian School didn't have an armed guard at the door.

The thing is, they locked the door to the church when they had their weeky masses there for the students at the school. This was their normal practice, as the weekly masses were only for the students and staff and not for the public. So the shooter went to the side of the chapel/church and shot through the stained glass windows. The shooter couldn't get in through the door. I don't think they ever imagined someone would try to kill the children by shooting through the stained glass windows.

 

[CSIDreamer]

Too bad the Catholic Christian School didn't have an armed guard at the door.

IMO, the school carries no blame.

 

[Chimera]

Neighbor watched cops take Minneapolis shooter’s family from their home as ‘surreal’ connection to killer set in

Exclusive details: ‘This was not a family you would have thought this kind of thing would happen to,’ Jim White, who lives across the street from suspected shooter Robin Westman, told The Independent

www.yahoo.com

Here's a news report about the FBI going to the father's house.

Looks like the father lives near the Annunciation Church, where the shootings occurred and if I read the article correctly, it sounds like the father still attends the church regularly with his children (not sure who that includes, maybe children from his second marriage?).

Thanks for the link, @Sundog !
From the article above :
"....When officers arrived on the scene, they found Westman in the school’s parking lot, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound..."
Rbm.
This was new to me.

Thought RW was found in the back of the church auditorium ?

Also from the article the neighbors saw an ordinary family and the dad of RW had gifted the neighbor with some landscaping rocks ?

So sad and still don't know much about any red flags ?
An adult child living independently can also have problems that go unnoticed, what with the rest of the family being busy with work and life.
A few calls or texts per week may not pick up on anything seriously wrong ?
Imo.

 

[LAborn]

Too bad the Catholic Christian School didn't have an armed guard at the door.

They may have, I haven't heard details. My son's Catholic high school had an armed security guard, but at the school, not the church.

 

[lonetraveler]

IMO, the school carries no blame.

I didn't say that the school carried blame.