The person who killed two children and wounded more than a dozen others attending Mass at a Catholic church in the US state of Minnesota on Wednesday, was "obsessed" with the idea of killing children, authorities have said.
The attacker, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, fired 116 rifle rounds through stained-glass windows while the children celebrated Mass during the first week of classes at the Annunciation Catholic School, said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara.
"It is very clear that this shooter had the intention to terrorise those innocent children," Mr O’Hara said.
Acting US attorney Joe Thompson said videos and writings the attacker left behind show that Westman "expressed hate towards almost every group imaginable".
The only group Westman did not hate was "mass murderers", Mr Thompson said.
"In short, the shooter appeared to hate all of us."
Minneapolis community holds candlelight vigil after shooting
Investigators recovered hundreds of pieces of evidence from the church and three residences, the police chief said. They found more writings from the suspect, but no additional firearms or a clear motive for the attack on the church Westman once attended.
Surveillance video captured the attack and showed Westman never entered the church in Minneapolis and could not see the children while firing through windows lined up with the pews, the police chief said.
Family members described one of the victims, eight-year-old Fletcher Merkel, as a boy who loved his family, fishing, cooking, and any sport he was allowed to play.
"We will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming," his father, Jesse, said while tearfully reading a statement outside the church yesterday.
Watch: Father pays tribute to son killed in the attack
The parents of the other victim, 10-year-old Harper Moyski, said in a statement that she was a bright and joyful child.
"Our hearts are broken not only as parents, but also for Harper’s sister, who adored her big sister and is grieving an unimaginable loss," said Michael Moyski and Jackie Flavin.
"As a family, we are shattered, and words cannot capture the depth of our pain."
They said they hope her memory helps drive leaders "to take meaningful steps to address gun violence and the mental health crisis in this country".
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s office said both children died of gunshot wounds.
City officials increased to 15 the number of injured children, who are aged six to 15. Three parishioners in their 80s were also injured. Only one person - a child - was in critical condition.
One of the students at Annunciation Catholic Church during the deadly morning attack took a shotgun blast to his back after putting his body in the line of fire trying to protect another child, county health officials said.
"There's a lot of maybe unrecognised heroes in this event, along with the children that were protecting other children," said Martin Scheerer, a director at Hennepin Emergency Medical Services. "The teachers were getting shot at. They were protecting the kids."
FBI director Kash Patel said the attack was an act of domestic terrorism motivated by hate-filled ideology, citing the attacker’s statements against multiple religions and calls for violence against President Donald Trump.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz on Thursday sent state law enforcement officers to schools and churches in Minneapolis, saying no child should go to school worried about losing a classmate or gunshots erupting during prayer.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was joined by several gun-control advocacy groups to call for a ban on certain high-capacity semi-automatic rifles, sometimes called assault weapons. A 2008 US Supreme Court ruling reaffirmed the right of individual Americans to own guns.
The mayor took issue with the view of many conservatives who say the prevalence of gun violence in the US is a mental health issue, unrelated to access to firearms.
"People who say, 'This is not about guns,' you gotta be kidding me: this is about guns," Mr Frey said in an interview with ABC News yesterday.
"A 10-year-old boy had more courage hiding in a church pew while his friend shielded him with his body than I have seen from far too many lawmakers more beholden to a gun lobby than a child," said Angela Ferrell-Zabala, executive director of Moms Demand Action, a gun violence prevention group.
Chloe Francoual, 11, was among the students who were terrified and traumatised by the flying bullets and shattered glass.
"She thought she was going to die with her friends," her father, Vincent Francoual, said in an interview.
After father and daughter were reunited in the school gym after the attack, the pair burst into tears, he said. Later, Chloe wanted all the doors in the house locked and the curtains drawn, and implored her father not to walk the dog for fear of dangers outside.
"She's just a little girl," her father said. "She's feeling all this guilt that she is OK, but her friends aren't."
Accreditation: Reuters/AFP
