The school striker in Minneapolis “Obsessed with the idea of ​​killing children,” said employees

Investigators say the attacker, who opened fire on students while praying in a church in Minneapolis, was “obsessed with the idea of ​​killing children.”

Robin Westman, who killed two children and wounds 18 others, did not seem to have any specific motive, according to the Mineapolis police chief Brian O’Hara.

The striker “seems to be hating all of us,” said the chief on Thursday, adding, “More than anything, the shooter wanted to kill children.”

The killed children were identified by the family as Fletcher Merkel, eight, and Harper Moose, 10.

“Yesterday, a coward decided to take our eight -year -old son Fletcher from us,” his father Jesse Merkel told reporters.

“Fletcher loved his family, friends, fishing, cooking and every sport he was allowed to play,” he said.

“Give your children an extra hug and kiss today. We love you, Fletcher. You will always be with us,” he continued, suffocating tears.

The parents of Harper Moose, Michael Moose and Jackie Flavin said in a statement that their daughter “is a bright, joyful and deeply loved 10-year-old, whose laughter, kindness and spirit have touched everyone who knows her.”

“As a family, we are broken and words cannot capture the depth of our pain,” he said, adding that they hope “her memory nourishes” to stop violence with a gun.

“No family should never tolerate this type of pain …. change is possible and necessary – so Harper’s story is not another in a long line of tragedies.”

The officials have so far released several details about the origin of the suspect, but they say that Westman had previously attended the church school and had a mother who worked there.

The 23-year-old suspect is believed to have approached the country of the Church of the Annunciation, which also houses a school and fired dozens of shots through the windows, using three firearms. Police also found a smoke bomb at the scene.

Witnesses described the vision of children to bleed as they fled the church, asking for help from strangers.

At a press conference on Thursday, the US Prosecutor General for Minnesota Joseph Thompson said that “Sagittarius expressed hatred of many groups, including the Jewish community, to President Trump.”

The attacker, who died in the place of a self -inflicted firearn wound, left a note, staff said, but they added that a final motive may never be known.

“I will not rely on the attacker’s words by repeating them, they are terrifying and disgusting,” said G -n Thompson.

Westman’s name was legally changed by Robert to Robin in 2020, with the judge writes: “The minor child identifies himself as a woman.” However, some federal officials and police have identified Westman as a man when they discuss the attack.

Chef O’Hara told reporters that newsletters should stop using the killer’s name because “the purpose of shooter’s actions is to get fame.”

He added that she, like so many other mass shooters we have seen in this country too often around the world, has some charm from previous mass shootings. “

US officials have warned for years that mass shooting can lead to copying murders as killers seek to become known through their vile crimes.

Several major news organizations have a policy not to identify mass murderers.

FBI Director Kash Patel described the attack as “an act of internal terrorism, motivated by hate -filled ideology.”

In a publication by X, Patel said the striker “had left numerous anti -catholic, anti -religious references,” written in weapons and in notes revealed by investigators.

“The topic expressed hatred and violence to the Jewish people, the writing of Israel must fall,” free Palestine “and use an explicit language related to the Holocaust,” he writes.

The killer also “wrote an explicit call for violence against President Trump in a firearm magazine.”

At their press conference, employees confirmed that the attacker had previously attended the school. Her mother, Mary Grace Westman, had previously worked at the school and had not reacted to order to contact her so far.

They also confirmed that three residences related to the attacker who was from the suburban Minneapolis were searched by police.

They said that the church had locked its doors before it began its mass service, probably saving many lives.

The officials added that the weapons used in the attack were legally purchased, that the killer did not appear on any government monitoring list and that the police were not aware of the diagnoses or treatment of mental health she had received.

Witnesses and relatives of victims who spoke to the BBC described the painful scenes of violence.

Patrick Sun, who lives near the church, said he saw three children flee from the building – one of them a girl with a wound on his head.

“She kept saying,” Please keep my hand, don’t leave me “and I said I’m not going anywhere.”

Vincent Francoual, whose 11-year-old daughter Chloe was in the church when the shooting was held, said he tried not to panic after hearing the news.

He called him “sick” that children in the US were trained to prepare for mass shootings.

“We live in a country where we teach children what to do. And she did what she had to do,” he said.

“This is a model. It’s no longer a freak,” he told school firing in the United States.

“I told my wife that every morning, when we release our children, we do not know if she would return to safety.”

Francoual, who is from France, said Chloe is afraid to return to school or church.

As a result of the attack, several legislators, including the mayor of Minneapolis, called on the state to accept a ban on the attack.

“There is no reason to be able to tire 30 shots before they even have to recharge,” said Mayor Jacob Frey, also calling for a ban on high capacity ammunition magazines.

“We’re not talking about your father’s hunting rifle. We’re talking about weapons that are built to break into armor and kill people.”