Terrified students and worshippers are sharing their accounts of the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, where two children were killed and 17 others were injured during Wednesday morning Mass. Police confirmed that the gunman, 23-year-old former pupil Robin Westman, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The FBI has launched an investigation, treating the attack as an anti-Catholic hate crime, leaving the local community in shock and mourning.
Eyewitnesses described moments of sheer panic and confusion as gunfire erupted inside the church. Local resident Pat Scallen, who lives nearby, told ABC News that the scene outside was initially eerily quiet before the scale of the tragedy became clear. Inside, children and parishioners sought cover, with some injured and others shielding friends and classmates. These accounts reveal a community grappling with fear, courage, and grief in the wake of an unimaginable attack.
“It was eerily quiet” — Eyewitness near the church
Local resident Pat Scallen, who lives around the corner from the church, described the moment he realized something was terribly wrong. “I didn't know exactly what it was at first, but after about the 10th shot, I knew something was wrong,” Scallen told Good Morning America as reported by ABC News.
Racing to the scene, Scallen said he found a magazine on the ground outside. “It was eerily quiet. And then I immediately turned and ran to the front of the church, and right at that time, everyone was coming out. And it was chaotic.”
Scallen recalled seeing young victims with grave wounds: “They were very frightened. They wanted their mom and dad. And I just, I sat them down and just tried to keep them calm, and I was watching them close to see if there'd be any change in their status.”
One girl, shot in the head, made a plea to him: “Please just hold my hand.” Scallen said simply, “I did,” told to ABC News.
He added that Annunciation was “one of the premiere schools in the city and state” and that despite the grief, “there's a spirit here, and I know they'll be grieving for a while, but this place, they'll come back.”
A child survivor describes “terrifying” moments
Witness testimony also emerged from inside the church. Ten-year-old Weston Halsne described to explained to CBS affiliate station WCCO, reported by BBC News, how a classmate shielded him from gunfire. “I was like two seats away from the stained glass window. My friend, Victor, saved me though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit,” he told BBC News.
Weston explained to BBC reporters that his friend was taken to the hospital but is expected to recover. “My friend got hit in the back, he went to the hospital... I was super scared for him but I think now he's okay.”
The boy also noted that while students regularly practised active-shooter drills, the church setting was unprepared. “We practise it every month, but not in church, only in the school.”
Locals describe confusion and shock
Nearby residents initially mistook the sounds of rapid gunfire for construction. One man, Mike Garrity, told reporters he thought it was a nail gun, while another resident, Bill Bienemann, recalled: “I said there's no way that could be gunfire because there's so much of it.”
Patrick Scallen, who also spoke to the BBC, described three wounded children running from the church, including a girl who begged him: “She kept saying, ‘please hold my hand, don't leave me’, and I said I wasn't going anywhere.”
Madee Brandt, a nanny working nearby, shared the emotional toll of watching the aftermath: “You see videos online, but it does not compare to seeing it and witnessing it in person. That was rough... it is terrifying,” as reported by BBC.
Mourning and investigations continue
Authorities confirmed that fourteen of the wounded were children between ages six and fifteen, while three elderly parishioners were also struck by bullets.
Hundreds gathered at a vigil Wednesday night to mourn the two young victims. Pope Leo XIV expressed he was “profoundly saddened” by the killings, while Governor Tim Walz said the tragedy was “all too common, not just in Minnesota, but across the country," as reported by BBC News.
Police say Westman acted alone and left behind a manifesto scheduled for online release, which was taken down by the FBI. Investigators are still probing his motive.
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