Terrified 10-year-old girl reveals how she hid in school classroom and prayed with her friend as Minnesota shooting unfolded: Live updates

Clarissa Garcia, a fifth-grade student at Annunciation, told KSTP she was praying for her life after a shooter opened fire on her and her classmates.

‘I was just at church and I heard something really loud. I thought it was fireworks in the church, and then I saw the shooting, and I was like, “Oh my gosh, I’m so scared,”‘Clarissa said.

She said a different teacher guided her to a different classroom while she was praying for safety.

‘I hope nobody got, like, killed or something like that or, like, hurt. I was just praying if everybody could be safe and, like, nobody would do this again,’ Clarissa said.

The young girl said she finally felt safe once she was reunited with her mother.

‘Like my guardian angel was with me, God was with me. And I was, like, hugging my mom as tightly as I can,’ she said.

Another fifth grader, Weston Halsne, told WCCO that his friend was shot in the back while trying to shield him from the gunfire.

Pope Leo XIV sent a telegram of condolences over the shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis, calling it a ‘terrible tragedy.’

The American pope said he was praying for relatives of the dead and injured ‘at this extremely difficult time’

Leo said he was ‘profoundly saddened’ to learn about the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School church and sent his condolences ‘to all those affected by this terrible tragedy, especially the families now grieving the loss of a child.’

Police were spotted outside the home of suspected shooter Robin Westman, which was sectioned off with crime scene tape.

Westman’s father, James Westman, owns a home less than one mile from the church, record show.

A now-deleted YouTube account believed to belong to the shooter posted disturbing content hours before the massacre.

The YouTube page appeared to show a drawing of the school’s church. The video shows a man stabbing the drawing repeatedly as he quietly says ‘I’m going to kill myself.’

Police are looking into the disturbing 20-minute video, according to The New York Post.

The White House said in a post on X that Trump signed a proclamation Wednesday afternoon ordering flags to be lowered at all government buildings until sunset on Sunday ‘as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence.’

The shooter who opened fire in the church of a Minneapolis Catholic school, killing two children, has been identified as Robin Westman, 23.

Westman, formerly known as Robert, shot through stained glass windows at the children sitting on the pews inside Annunciation Catholic School’s church at about 8.30am local time Wednesday, officials said. He then turned the gun on himself.

The shooter, who grew up in Richfield, changed his name to Robin in 2020, when he was 17, KARE 11 reported.

Weston Halsne, a fifth grader at Annunciation Catholic School, told WCCO that his friend was shot in the back while trying to shield him from the gunfire.

‘They shot through the stained glass windows, I think, and it was really scary,’ Weston said.

‘The first one I was like “What is that?”… And then I heard it again [and] I just ran under the pew and then I covered my head.

‘My friend Victor saved me, though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit.’

The boy explained they hid under the pews for nearly 10 minutes before being evacuated, and that his friend was taken to the hospital.

‘I was super scared for him, but I think now he’s okay,’ Weston said.

Robin Westman had a now-deleted YouTube account that had one video showing gun parts, a semi-automatic rifle and a shotgun.

The gun parts had the names of other mass shooters written on them – including the Sandy Hook gunman, the Norway shooter,and the Abundant Life shooter.

Law enforcement sources told KARE 11 that the mother of the Aunnunciation Church shooter, Robin Westman, worked at the school.

The sources also said that Westman grew up in the area.

Robin Westman, 23, has been identified as the shooter who opened fire in the church of a Minneapolis Catholic School, killing two children.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara previously said the shooter did not have an extensive known criminal history and is believed to have acted alone.

The shooter who opened fire in the church of a Minneapolis Catholic School, killing two children, has been identified as Robin Westman, 23.

Westman shot through stained glass windows at the children sitting on the pews inside Annunciation Catholic School’s church at about 8.30am local time Wednesday, officials said.

His identity was confirmed by the local outlet KSTP.

In a new post on X, Minnesota Gov. and former VP Tim Walz said Minnesota was ‘broken’ after the school shooting tragedy that killed three and injured 17.

He thanked first responders before finishing his message saying ‘hug your kids close.’

Police Chief Brian O’Hara confirmed that the mass shooting at Annunciation Church is not related to the other deadly shootings around Minneapolis in the past 24 hours.

Three people were shot and killed in three separate shootings on Tuesday afternoon into early Wednesday morning, local news stations reported.

At least eight people were also injured by gunshot wounds in the incidents.

Minneapolis police believe the gunman fired all three weapons he brought to the scene.

‘The shooter was armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol,’ Chief Brian O’Hara said.

‘He was absolutely shooting outside of the building on the side of the church, inside, through the windows.

‘It appears he may have gone inside, but I don’t believe we’ve located any casings inside the building, so I’m not certain if he fired.’

Hennepin Healthcare, the main trauma hospital in Minneapolis, received 11 patients, including nine children and two adults, said Dr. Thomas Wyatt, the chair of emergency medicine, during a press briefing.

There were no deaths among any of the 11 patients brought there. Four of the patients were taken to operating rooms.

‘Up to this point in time, there have been no fatalities related to any of those patients that were brought to our organization,’ Wyatt said.

The children brought to Hennepin were ages six through 14.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara revealed that the shooter blocked the church doors so people couldn’t escape as the shooting unfolded.

‘The shooter approached on one side of the church building and on that side at least two doors it appears [there] had been a two by four placed,’ O’Hara said.

‘He was absolutely shooting outside the building. It appears he may have gone inside but I don’t believe we have located any casings inside the building. So I’m not certain he also fired while inside.’

Chief Brian O’Hara debunked reports that an explosive device was found at the scene of the Annunciation Church shooting.

‘There were reports of that,’ he said. ‘There were no explosives or improvised devices that we found.’

O’Hara did note that a smoke bomb of sorts was found, but clarified it wasn’t an explosive and described it as ‘a sort of firework.’

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooter, a lone gunman believed to be in his early 20s, opened fire into a room full of children as a ‘deliberate act of violence.’

‘This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshiping,’ O’Hara said.

‘The sheer cruelty and cowardice, firing into a church full of children, is absolutely incomprehensible.’

Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed in the pews, he said. Seventeen people – incluiding 14 children were injured. Two are in critical condition.

‘During the mass, the gunman approached on the outside, on the side of the building, and began firing a rifle through the church windows towards the children sitting in the pews at the mass,’ O’Hara said.

‘Shooting through the windows, he struck children and worshipers that were inside the building.’

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooter was in his early 20s and had no known criminal history.

They are investigating to determine the motive.

‘Coward who fired these shots ultimately took his own life in the rear of the church,’ O’Hara said.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara revealed that two kids, ages 8 and 10, were killed while sitting in the pews.

O’Hara said the gunman approached the building from outside and shot through the windows. He was armed with a shotgun, rifle, and pistol.

He confirmed that two children, aged 8 and 10, were killed while sitting in pews.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey confirmed that children were killed during the Annunciation Church shooting at a press conference, but did not specify how many.

‘Children are dead,’ he said. ‘You cannot put into words the gravity, tragedy, or absolute pain of this moment.’

Founded in 1923, the school where the shooting took place had 391 students enrolled for the 2023-24 school year, according to the National Center for Education Statistics.

Each grade level has two classes, with about 20 students in each class.

The shooter stormed Annunciation Catholic Church on 54th Street around 8:30am local time.

Students at Annunciation Catholic School, where classes just started on Monday, were in mass at the time of the shooting.

The shooter, dressed in all black and reportedly armed with a semiautomatic weapon, ‘pepper-sprayed’ bullets through the stained glass windows at Annunciation Catholic Church this morning.

Pictured: The stained glass windows at Annunciation Church in 2017

Sen. Amy Klobuchar told MSNBC that one of her longtime employees had three children in the school during the shooting.

She said the the woman’s daughter, who is in the seventh grade, watched her friends be shot.

‘These kids are doing an all-school Mass and had to watch several of her friends get shot — one in the back, one in the neck,’ Klobuchar said.

‘And they all got down under the pews and she — her daughter, of course, was not shot — but her daughter ended up being the one to tell one of the dads of one of the other kids that his daughter had been shot.’

One little boy who walked away from the Annunciation Church shooting told his father, ‘I don’t feel safe,’ according to The Minnesota Star-Tribune.

At least two children have been killed after a gunman stormed a Catholic church in Minneapolis and opened fire as the parish school was holding its start-of-year mass.

The shooter, dressed in all black and reportedly armed with a semiautomatic weapon, ‘pepper-sprayed’ bullets through the stained glass windows at Annunciation Catholic Church this morning.

Medics on emergency dispatch audio obtained by the outlet reported that a 10-year-old boy with a gunshot wound to the head was being transported.

Additionally the audio said, ‘We have two patients with gunshot wounds to their head in front [of the church]. … we have a critical [victim] in the rear of the church.’

Children’s Minnesota, a pediatric trauma hospital, confirmed they are treating six children from the Annunciation Church shooting who were admitted for care.

‘Children’s Minnesota is aware of the recent tragic shooting in Minneapolis. Our teams are trained to respond in times of crisis, and are fully prepared to care for impacted children,’ the hosptial said.

‘We will not share more details to respect the privacy of our patients and families.’

The gunman at Annunciation Church is said to have killed himself, according to local reports.

The City of Minneapolis confirmed the gunman had been ‘contained’ and that there was no longer an active threat to the community.

A male suspect is dead after a mass shooting left at least two children dead in a Minneapolis catholic school’s church.

The still unidentified gunman, who was reportedly armed with a semiautomatic weapon, shot through stained glass windows as he unleashed the attack at Annunciation Catholic Church this morning.

At least 20 people are believed to have been injured in the tragic incident, with one hospital saying it’s treating five children.

One neighbor near Annunciation Church, Mike Garrity, told The Minnesota Star Tribune he witnessed dozens of kids exiting the church, several of whom were bloody with injuries.

Garrity said some of the kids, who looked to be about six to nine years old, were crying as they left.

Another nearby resident told the newspaper he held the hands of three kids who had gunshot wounds. One was shot in the neck, he said.

‘I feel like the kids, the ones I saw, are going to be OK, and that made me feel good, I didn’t see any fatalities coming out of the building,’ he said.

Minnesota Senator Tina Smith reacted to the Annunciation Church shooting, saying, ‘It’s the first week of school. These kids should not be fearing for their lives.’

A parent who was sitting in the back pew at the 8.15am Mass at Annunciation Church told The Minnesota Star Tribune that students were sitting in the pews when a shooter opened fire with a semiautomatic weapon.

‘He just pepper-sprayed through the stained-glass windows into the building, 50 to 100 shots,’ said the parent. ‘He killed two kids.’

The parent added, ‘This is terrible. This is evil. I don’t know how you defend against this.’

President Donald Trump confirmed he has been briefed on the church shooting in Minneapolis.

‘I have been fully briefed on the tragic shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The FBI quickly responded and they are on the scene,’ he said on Truth Social.

‘The White House will continue to monitor this terrible situation. Please join me in praying for everyone involved!’

‘We are caring for patients from the shooting that occurred this morning. Please watch this and other social media sites for updates,’ the healthcare system said on X.

Wednesday’s shooting at Annunciation Church is the latest incident in a violent 24 hours in Minneapolis, reported KARE 11.

Three people were shot and killed in three separate shootings on Tuesday afternoon into early Wednesday morning, according to the local news station.

At least eight people were also injured by gunshot wounds in the incidents.

‘I am heartbroken by the horrific violence at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis this morning,’ the senator said on X.

‘My prayers are with the students, teachers, and families, and I am grateful for the first responders who are on the scene.’

Nearby neighbors of the Minnesota church incident told FOX 9 there was so much gunfire they did not call police because they believed the noises were roofing work.

Neighbors also said children from the school were in mass at the time of the shooting.

Sources confirmed to FOX 9 that the Annunciation Church shooting suspect is dead.

The City of Minneapolis said ‘the shooter is contained’ and there is ‘no active threat to the communtiy.’

Minneapolis City Councilmember Linea Palmisano, who represents this area, told WCCO that the ‘shooter is down.’

The local news station noted that development has not been confirmed by law enforcement.

The City of Minneapolis said there is no active threat to the community and the shooter at Annunciation Church has been contained.

‘There is an active police situation at Annunciation Church, 509 W. 54th St. There is no active threat to the community at this time. The shooter is contained,’ the city said on X.

‘Stay away from the area to allow emergency personnel to help victims – W. 54th Street between Lyndale and Nicollet Ave.’

Swarms of officers were spotted outside Annunciation Church in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

Seven people were shot, one fatally, in a separate mass shooting near a Catholic high school in south Minneapolis yesterday reported Kare11.

Police said the suspect, who escaped in a vehicle and does not appear to have been arrested since, fired around 30 rounds from a high-velocity .223 rifle.

Authorities have not confirmed any connection between the shootings.

Students at Annunciation Catholic School, where a gunman opened fire this morning, started classes on Monday.

They were in mass at the time of the shooting, according to Fox 9.

Officials at Annunciation Catholic School told Daily Mail that ‘now is not the time to be answering your questions.’

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey confirmed he is aware of ‘reports of horrific violence’ after gunman opened fire at Annunciation Catholic Church.

‘I’m monitoring reports of horrific violence in South Minneapolis. I’m in touch with Chief O’Hara and our emergency response team has been activated,’ Frey said.

‘We will share more information as soon as we can. Please give our officers the space they need to respond to the situation.’

Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives St. Paul Field Division confirmed they are on the scene at Annunciation Church.

‘ATF agents are responding to reports of an active shooter situation at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis,’ the agency said on X.

Governor of Minnesota and former VP Tim Walz took to X on Wednesday to reveal he had been briefed on the church shooting.

He confirmed the BCA and State Patrol were on the scene.

‘I’m praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence,’ he wrote.

A gunman has attacked a Catholic church in Minneapolis with reports of at least 20 victims, it has emerged.

Preliminary reports indicate that at least four people are injured in the mass shoot out at Annunciation Church on 54th Street.

Officials at the Catholic grade school on the same grounds as the parish told Daily Mail that ‘now is not the time to be answering your questions’.