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

[Dawookie]

I’m curious to know when and where the guns/ammunition were purchased. Especially the automatic. Did he go to a gun range to practice? I have no experience or knowledge of guns, but wondering if it would seem odd that he purchased three of them. Did the seller(s) ask him any questions? How did he pay for these if he wasn’t working? I’m in MN and not too far from where the shooting happened and will go to the church one day this week to pay my respects. It’s been a sad week here.

They didn't have any automatic weapons, the pistol and rifle were semiautomatic. In order to purchase them. As of right now they haven't released any information on when and where the guns were purchased. IMO I don't think it would seem odd that he bought three of them. Some people will buy multiple guns at the same time to save money doing them all on one background check instead of having to pay for separate ones. They would ask generic questions, most gun shop employees don't delve too much into questions outside of what the buyer is looking for, what caliber, how does it feel etc

 

[BetteDavisEyes]

Bullet fragment found in neck of boy who went viral for saying his friend shielded him from school shooting

Weston Halsne's father said the fragment stopped short of the 10-year-old's carotid artery, which a doctor described as a "miracle."

www.nbcnews.com

Doctors discovered a bullet fragment in the neck of a 10-year-old boy who went viral for recounting how his friend jumped on top of him to shield him during a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis that killed two children and injured others.

Weston Halsne, a fifth-grade student at Annunciation Catholic School, was attending Mass on Wednesday when the shooting occurred. He recounted running under a pew and covering his head while shots came through the stained-glass windows, and said his friend Victor was shot while shielding him.

“I think I got, like, gunpowder on my neck,” he said after the shooting...

 

[Sadi]

They didn't have any automatic weapons, the pistol and rifle were semiautomatic. In order to purchase them. As of right now they haven't released any information on when and where the guns were purchased. IMO I don't think it would seem odd that he bought three of them. Some people will buy multiple guns at the same time to save money doing them all on one background check instead of having to pay for separate ones. They would ask generic questions, most gun shop employees don't delve too much into questions outside of what the buyer is looking for, what caliber, how does it feel etc

Sorry, I missed that detail. It’ll probably be some time before more information is released.

 

[fred&edna]

appears rw made and sold some skateboard accessories.

Late last year, Ms. Westman was known to artists in Minneapolis’s L.G.B.T.Q. community, as she sold handmade skateboard accessories at markets.

In Secret Diaries, the Church Shooter’s Plans for Mass Murder

Robin W. Westman described how she had obtained guns and how she had visited the church on a test run this summer during a Sunday Mass.

www.nytimes.com

still puzzling how rw earned a living. i simply can't imagine how rw paid for housing, food, clothing - as adults typically do - by selling accessories at this street market.

and, i also wonder if rw locked the code diaries in a safe when sleeping/showering to prevent others seeing and figuring out the code for themselves.

even with dislike for sex, was rw capable of any intimacy.

jmo

 

[Trino]

In Montana. Yes. I have those items in the truck.

Don't mean to criticize, just curious. Why? Maybe it's because this happened in an urban area that it seems odd to me.

 

[thefragile7393]

The process is most definitely flawed but nothing gets done about fixing the flaws until something bad happens. Non public schools Schools had asked for more money in 2022 and 2023 for security from the state and the legislature didn't pass any bills for it. So theresls been failures across multiple levels leading up to this shooting.

Remington was making semiautomatic hunting rifles back in the 1950s. There's multiple semiautomatic rifles on the market that aren't AR platform. Using a semi auto to hunt big game isn't a new thing and most states have a magazine limit if using one to hunt. And with the AR platform you can build them to use larger calibers suitable for taking down most bigger game.

A .22 with good shot placement will definitely take down coyotes and raccoons, especially if it's a .22WMR or .22 Hornet. Prairie dogs , Nutria Beaver etc can all be taken down with small caliber weapons. People using them for varmint control arent going to be pulling the trigger willy nilly and spraying ammunition like that. Using a semiautomatic for hunting or varmint control because it makes it easier for follow up shots if you do make a bad shot.

Asking to limit guns that are used to commit mass shootings would limit pretty much every gun made. Handguns by far are used the most but the media barely reports on them. Glocks equipped with a switch, making them fully automatic, are increasingly being used but the media doesn't cover them like they do when an AR platform is used. When those shooters are caught, they are hardly ever prosecuted at the federal level and states are now having to add new laws to deal with it. Same thing with people straw buying for people who shouldn't have guns, they are rarely prosecuted despite it being a federal crime to do so.

As a fellow gun owner I agree that they are people that shouldn't be allowed to have a gun. But until they fix all the support systems in place to prevent that, sadly there will be people who get their hands on them. And you are 100% right that drawing a line in the sand without compromise isn't working but the law makers don't see that. I live in a state that has some of the strictest gun control laws on the books but when criminals get caught using guns in a crime, they are allowed to plea down to lighter sentences. The ones that suffer are the ones who actually follow the laws.

This is one of the most common sense of comments I've seen. This is why I prefer to discuss true crime here vs anyone else-you don't have the ridiculousness on this forum you see elsewhere. Your points are completely clear and valid and make so much sense.

 

[Sundog]

RBBMFF

First of all nobody should shoot in the direction of houses and populations of people where there’s a danger of hitting someone. No hunter that I know would do that.

There may be some confusion about what a semi-automatic is. One trigger pull doesn’t spray or shower bullets. One trigger pull shoots one bullet. The “automatic” is the fact that it automatically reloads the chamber. You have to again pull the trigger to fire another single round. You can’t hold the trigger down and spray bullets, that would make it automatic or “machine gun”. imo

Thank you, I appreciate the clarification.

 

[Sillybilly]

ADMIN NOTE:

Guns are involved in many, many cases we discuss here at Websleuths.

We don't turn those dedicated threads into hot-topic discussion about gun control.

Please stay on topic discussing this case only without derailing it with general topic of gun control.

 

[Megnut]

***
Despite the horror carried out Wednesday by a shooter whose journal entries detail weeks of preparation and a fixation on harming children, stories of bravery and tragedy have emerged as families share their accounts.
***

Boy wounded in Minnesota church shooting asks doctor: ‘Can you say a prayer with me?’

Stories of bravery and heartache are emerging after the deadly shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church during a Mass celebrating the start of the school year. Friends say one girl was wounded while shielding her buddy as her father, the school’s gym teacher, helped usher kids to safety.

www.mprnews.org

 

[Cryptic]

I have no experience or knowledge of guns, but wondering if it would seem odd that he purchased three of them. Did the seller(s) ask him any questions?

I don't think so. Questions would just lead to arguments. Rather than ask questions, I think the gun store would have just declined the sale if they were inclined to.

Years ago, I was declined a gun sale when I tried to buy 3 identical deeply discounted Soviet WWII surplus revolvers in an obscure, near impossible to find calibre.

No questions, just a statement from the owner that California was in a crackdown on gun trafficking and he could not afford to have his shop / license put under scrutiny. The fact that the guns were very "non narco" did not matter. He would sell me one, but not three.

In short, if he tried to buy all three guns at once while looking off, he may of gotten declined using the "ATF will see it, and we don't want problems ala 'straw buyers' " line. But.... if he bought the guns one at a time, the odds of him getting declined go down considerably.

 

[arielilane]

Minneapolis police said Monday that 21 people were injured by gunfire in the shooting: 18 children between the ages of 6 and 15 and three adults in their 80s.

Survivor of Minneapolis school shooting has shrapnel in his neck, family says

Weston Halsne knew immediately that something had hit him during the shocking mass shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis last week.

abc13.com

Sept 1

 

[fred&edna]

I am very concerned about the amount of time young people spend online feeding their brains what they want. Our years growing up are just that. We grow up learning appropriate behavior, how to love, how to set boundaries, how to understand who we are etc.

The last thing kids need is access to information at their fingertips 24-7.

I'm not sure most parents know what is going on with their kids.

In defence of young people the world they are growing up in is not as stable as when I was young. I didn't have to worry about getting executed at school. Choices were more limited. Many choices were made for me, like what we ate for supper most days, the clothes I wore etc. The TV was off during weekdays until night.

limited choices for underage youth is soooo vital... specifically social media/etc ita

but, i support free speech. censorship limits rights and it's troubling when others pick and choose for other adults. it often creates an environment of fear and anger.

jmo

 

[Sundog]

MSN

The Vice President and Second Lady will be visiting Annunciation Church on Wednesday, September 3rd and meeting with the families of the victims.

 

[outback]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15061781/Minneapolis-school-shooter-gun-shop-massacre.html

 

[Sundog]

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-15061781/Minneapolis-school-shooter-gun-shop-massacre.html

Wow, this was just four days before the murders. The murderer used a telescopic lens on the rifle to target the children as they sat and prayed in their church pews during mass.

 

[Sillybilly]

ADMIN NOTE:

Gun control discussion and politicizing are both violations of Websleuths Terms of Service.

Posts have been removed, and members who derail a discussion with such topics may end up losing posting privileges.

 

[Teche]

My grandson attends a large Catholic High School and the school has a fulltime School Resource Officer on campus everyday and all day. The officer is employed by the parish sheriff’s department. He is also a member of SWAT. He wears a bulletproof vest and is armed. His vehicle is parked in front of the school campus.
The school posted a picture and a beautiful write up on their FB page. Attached to his vest was a small rosary cross attached to his vest. I sure the school was bringing awareness due to this terrible school shooting.

 

[Inthedetails]

While all the discussions and mourning goes on, young people are still accessing the same websites and online communities that influenced this shooter. Right now, kids are getting pulled into it.

No, it's not the internet in general that is the problem or even screen time, but CONTENT that encourages hate and violence, especially targeting vulnerable youth.

The content is not going away, and I hope adults are teaching young people about the signs to look for.

Just like we teach kids to look both ways before crossing the street because getting hit by a car is a real danger, we need to teach them what to be aware of online, to recognize grooming, and what to do if they encounter it.

my opinion.

jmo

 

[fred&edna]

has any media source provided a side-by-side look at the original diary entries with the 'translation'. just curious about accuracy of some of the translations.

 

[Megnut]

has any media source provided a side-by-side look at the original diary entries with the 'translation'. just curious about accuracy of some of the translations.

Iiuc it's not a language to language translation. Just used used that alphabet instead of ours. As a code.

JMO