Minneapolis Shooting: Disturbing Video Shows Children Fleeing Annunciation Church After Attack

(MENAFN- Live Mint) A new video has surfaced showing students inside Annunciation Church fleeing in fear after gunshots killed two people and injured dozens. A video obtained by NBC New shows children in school uniforms ducking and sprinting out of the building. Some are seen covering their ears, while others leap over church pews in a desperate attempt to escape.

The attacker, identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, fired dozens of gunshots on Wednesday morning at Annunciation Church, where children were attending a worship service.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, which is leading the case, has described the incident as“an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics,” the BBC reported.

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Disturbing content in the“Manifesto”

Police said they had found a“manifesto” that the suspect published at the time of the shooting. Before carrying out the attack, Westman allegedly uploaded several clips to YouTube. Chief O'Hara said investigators were“scouring through a video 'manifesto' ... to try and develop a motive.”

The videos, later removed from the platform, showed weapons carved with racial slurs, antisemitic phrases, and a written death threat against US President Donald Trump

In one clip, Westman expressed admiration for six mass shooters, including Adam Lanza, who murdered 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. Another video displayed phrases like“psycho killer” and“suck on this!”, alongside antisemitic messages such as“6 million wasn't enough.”

Westman also spoke of suffering from depression and suicidal thoughts but did not present a clear motive.

Parents of students killed in shooting share emotional pleas

Jesse Merkel, the father of eight-year-old Fletcher who was killed in the shooting on Wednesday, delivered a family statement outside the church targeted by the gunman. He remembered his son as a caring child with a passion for fishing, cooking and sports.

Read | Minneapolis mass shooting: 100+ rounds fired by suspect who 'hated everyone'

"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," Merkel was quoted as saying by BBC.

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