Witnesses describe the Catholic School in Minneapolis

Witnesses to a mass shooting in the American city of Minneapolis described “horrifying” scenes after the attacker opened a church fire in which the children celebrated a liturgy on Wednesday morning.

A young boy described that he was protected by a friend who had hit.

Two children were killed and 17 others were injured in an incident for which the FBI treats as an anti -catholic crime of hatred.

The attacker, appointed as 23-year-old Robin Westman, died in place of a self-inflicted firearm wound. Authorities have not yet given a suspected motive.

Westman was a former student of the school next to the church, CNN reported. The attacker’s mother had previously worked at the establishment, according to a 2016 school newsletter.

The young survived, 10-year-old Weston Haln, explained to the CBS WCCO branch station that his friend had saved him from bullets, lying on top of him.

“I was like two stained glass places,” he said. “My friend, Victor, saved me because he was lying on top of me, but he hit.”

He continued: “My friend hit the back, he went to the hospital … I was super scared for him, but I think it’s good now.”

Weston said that he and his classmates were well drilled in what to do in a shooting situation – but not in the environment they found themselves in. “We practice it every month, but not in church, only at school,” he said.

The suspect Westman is believed to have approached the side of the Church of the Annunciation, which also housed a school, and fired dozens of shots through the windows, using three firearms. Police also found a smoke bomb at the scene.

Officials are investigating whether the shots were fired from the building or outside, noting that no bullets were found inside.

The locals described their confusion when they heard the shots appear. A man, Mike Gariti, told NBC News that he believed it was the sound of a nail gun on a nearby construction site.

Bill Bineman, who lives two blocks, talk to reporters near the scene and recalled the moment: “I said there was no way this was a shooting because there was so many of him.”

Another local resident, PJ Mudd, who worked at home on Wednesday morning, told The Wall Street Journal that he had heard three booms. “I suddenly understood – it was a shooting.”

Then, Mud runs to the church, where he saw three cartridges of the magazine on Earth.

Witnesses, including Gariti, also described the horrifying performance of the children resulting from the church covered with blood.

Another neighbor, Patrick Rock, told the BBC that he saw three children fleeing 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.”

A nanny who works nearby said she was relieved to see some children who left the building unharmed, but was disturbed by “the appearance only of their faces.”

“You see videos online, but this is not compared to seeing it and witnessing it personally,” Madi Brand told the NBC. “It was rude … it’s horrifying.”

Hundreds of people attended vigil for victims on Wednesday night at another nearby school.

Those who were injured in the shooting are expected and some are already released from a hospital.

A mother told CNN that she was relieved that her children were not hurt in the incident, but that there were “such mixed feelings right now”.

Carla Maldonado says she is “incredibly sad and angry that this should be something in every school.” She continued to say, “The life that was lost (are) too much. One is too much. It’s not good.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz suggested such a mood, saying that the situation is “too common – not only in Minnesota but also throughout the country.”

Walz said that US President Donald Trump and his team expressed their “deep condolences” and offered help.

Trump later said the US flag would be broadcast on a White House half-like to show respect for victims.

Pope Leo XIV, the first American Pope, was among those who paid tribute to the young victims, saying he was “deep saddened” by the attack.

Following a press conference on Wednesday, the Mineapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said the attacker did not have a “vast known criminal history” and acted himself.

Police say they have discovered a Manifesto that Westman posted to publish on YouTube during the shooting. The FBI assisted employees and took it off.

Westman’s name was legally changed by Robin to Robin in 2020, according to Minnesota court records. In the application, the judge writes: “The minor child identifies as a woman and wants her name to reflect this identification.”