Minneapolis School Shooter Placed Two-by-Fours on Doors to Trap Victims Inside By Janelle Griffith 20

The assailant who fired through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis on Wednesday during morning Mass, killing an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old and injuring 18 other people, had barricaded the doors of the church before opening fire, police said.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Wednesday that Westman had placed two-by-fours through the doors handles of two of Annunciation Catholic Church’s exits from the outside, where the shooter, identified by police as Robin Westman, 23, fired.

Fifteen children between the ages of 6 and 15 sustained gunshot wounds, O’Hara said. Three people in their 80s were also wounded, O’Hara said.

O’Hara estimated that Westman fired dozens of rounds from three lawfully-purchased weapons — a rifle, shotgun and pistol — before dying from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

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The suspect’s mother, Mary Grace Westman, is a retired employee of Annunciation Catholic School, where she worked for five years, NBC affiliate KARE 11 reported.

The FBI is investigating the shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics, the agency’s director, Kash Patel said. Police have not yet determined a motive.