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By Dan Gooding and Gabe Whisnant
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A 10-year-old fifth grader, Weston Halsne, told reporters in Minneapolis that his classmate, Victor, shielded him from gunfire during the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School.
"My friend Victor, like, saved me though. 'Cause he laid on top of me. But he got hit," Halsne told WCCO News. "I was super scared for him. But I think now he's OK..."
"I hope you're okay and I'm praying for you," he said in a message to his friend.
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The Context
The shooting, which occurred during a morning Mass at the school, killed two children and injured many others. The suspect, later identified as Robin Westman, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
President Donald Trump has ordered U.S. flags flown at half-staff through sunset on Sunday, August 31, to honor the victims of the Minneapolis school shooting.
What To Know
Halsne had been sitting near a stained-glass window when the suspect opened fire. He said that he was hiding under a pew with his friend, who dove on top of him to protect him and was shot in the back. A few moments later, the group made its way to the school gym to wait for the all-clear.
The fifth grader told reporter Caroline Cummings that he and his classmates had participated in active shooter drills, but had not expected it would happen during mass.
When Halsne made it outside, he said his mother was waiting for him.
"I was super happy, because like, I was scared that I wasn't going to see her. 'Cause I didn't know what was happening really, I was just in shock," he told WCCO News.
...
Where Is Annunciation Catholic School?
Halsne was one of 370 students at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, which accepts students from kindergarten through eighth grade.
The school also includes a church, which is where the shooting began on Wednesday morning, at around 8:30 a.m.
Who Was Shooting Suspect Robin Westman?
The suspect, who died by suicide, was named as Robin Westman, 23, by FBI Director Kash Patel in a post on X.
Patel said that federal authorities were investigating the shooting "as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics."
Westman lived in Richfield, Minnesota, and her mother worked in some capacity at the school, Minneapolis news station KARE and the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.
According to the Star Tribune, Westman's mother applied to change her name to Robin in 2020 when she was 17. The application said that Westman "identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification," the newspaper reported.
What People Are Saying
Annunciation School Principal Matt DeBoer, during a press conference: "Within seconds of this situation beginning, our teachers were heroes. Children were ducked down. Adults were protecting children. Older children were protecting younger children.
"And as we heard earlier, it could have been significantly worse without their heroic action. This is a nightmare. But we call our staff the Dream Team. And we will recover from this. We will rebuild from this when we print plan for this school year."
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, at a press conference Wednesday afternoon: "We need to be doing more than talking. It can't just be words. There needs to be action.
"And when we have seen school shooting, after school shooting. We have seen churches get shot up by horrible actors. I think the impetus has to be on all of us as leaders to do a whole lot more, to recognize that we've got more guns in this country than we have people, and it's on all of us to recognize the truth and the reality that we can't just say that this shouldn't happen again, and then allow it to happen again and again."
Timberlyn Mazeikis, a survivor of a shooting at Michigan State University in 2023 and Students Demand Action volunteer from Minnesota, in a statement: "One week into the school year, colleges are under constant lockdown hoaxes while kids are being shot at school. Until we get weapons of war off our streets, students will keep getting shot and killed and this will continue to be our reality."
What Happens Next
The FBI's investigation continued Wednesday afternoon, with Minnesota Governor Tim Walz promising a redoubling of efforts to understand what had happened so that a similar event would not happen again.
Update 8/27/25, 4:18 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
Update 8/27/25, 4:57 p.m. ET: This article was updated with additional information.
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