The first Mass of the school year turned into a massacre Wednesday morning at a Catholic school in Minneapolis, when a gunman opened fire, killing two children, ages 8 and 10. Seventeen others were injured, including 14 children — with two in critical condition. The suspect, identified by law enforcement as Robin Westman, had weapons covered in antisemitic and anti-Israel slogans and praise for mass murderers, according to the Anti-Defamation League.

Kash Patel, the FBI director, posted on social media that the agency is investigating the shooting “as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.” Pope Leo, who was born in the U.S., called it a “terrible tragedy” and said that he was praying for the families.

“There are no words that can capture the horror and the evil of this unspeakable act,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, who is Jewish. Visibly shaken as he addressed reporters outside Annunciation Catholic Church, which has a pre-k through eighth grade school, Frey said, “You cannot put into words the gravity, tragedy or absolute pain of the situation.”

ADVERTISEMENT

He added: “Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church.”

The church was packed with dozens of students for the service; many hid under the pews as gunfire shattered the stained-glass windows.

Police said the shooter, who was in their early 20s, used three weapons — a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol — before dying of a self-inflicted gunshot wound outside the school. Officers were searching the suspect’s car in the parking lot for other evidence and a potential motive.

ADVERTISEMENT

The attack follows a grim pattern of violence in American sanctuaries: nine murdered during a Bible study at Mother Emanuel AME Church in Charleston in 2015; 11 killed during Shabbat services at Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life synagogue in 2018; six gunned down at The Covenant School, a Christian elementary in Nashville in 2023; and two killed at a shooting at the Abundant Life Christian School in 2024.

For Frey, the tragedy underscored a fight that has defined much of his tenure. Since taking office in 2018, the 44-year-old has pressed for stricter gun laws and directed police to prioritize getting illegal firearms off the streets.

In the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and a surge in antisemitism in the United States, Frey has leaned into his Jewish faith, drawing strength from it in public life.

“Judaism is very much based more in law than it is belief,” he told Jewish Insider in December. “There’s a fairness and an objectivity I deeply appreciate and that I certainly incorporate into my leadership as mayor. There’s also not just a beautiful acceptance — but a kind of hospitality of inclusivity that is entrenched in the fabric of being a Jew, and that’s something I also believe in.”

Frey, the city’s second Jewish and second-youngest mayor, attends Temple Israel, a Reform synagogue six miles from the school, with his wife and their two daughters. He is seeking a third term, with voters set to decide his political future in November.