BBC News : Today’s shooting has killed two schoolchildren, aged eight and 10, on only their third day back at school.
The shooting happened at the Annunciation Catholic Church, which is connected to the school. Police have identified the gunman as Robin Westman, a 23-year-old with no prior criminal history.
Westman used three guns – all bought legally – to carry out the shooting, according to a police chief. No motive has been identified, but police are now looking into videos apparently posted by the gunman.
The shooting comes at a particularly difficult time for Minnesota and the Greater Minneapolis area.
Just before the school shooting, three people were killed in three shootings within about 13 hours. And earlier in June, a gunman targeted the homes of two state politicians in the Minneapolis suburbs. Democratic House Speaker Emerita Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, were killed in the attack.
Governor Tim Walz was at the funeral for the Hortmans and, just weeks later, is at the scene of another tragedy.
The governor admits that similar situations are “all too common” in Minnesota, and he will try to work out what can be done to prevent this from happening again. “Minnesotans will not step away,” he said.
