FBI states Minneapolis’s shooting accident is anti-Catholic hate crime
(MENAFN) Authorities are examining a tragic shooting at a Minneapolis school that claimed the lives of two children and injured 17 others as a potential anti-Catholic hate crime, according to reports.
"The FBI is investigating this shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics," FBI Director Kash Patel stated in a social media post.
The victims, aged eight and ten, were fatally shot when an assailant fired through the windows of the city's Annunciation Church on Wednesday morning, during a Mass attended by children.
The gunman, who took his own life at the scene, was later identified by police as 23-year-old Robin Westman.
Investigators have not yet disclosed a possible motive behind the assault.
On Wednesday evening, a continuous stream of mourners visited the site, leaving flowers in tribute. The incident caused widespread shock and outrage, especially since it occurred at the start of a church Mass marking the beginning of the school year.
Pope Leo XIV, recognized as the first American pope, expressed his sorrow over the loss of the young lives, saying he was "profoundly saddened" by the attack.
Police Chief Brian O'Hara commented: "This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping."
He added, "The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible."
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