Overview

• Local police identified the suspect as 23-year-old Robin Westman after two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed and 17 people, including 14 children, were injured at Annunciation Roman Catholic Church in Minneapolis.
• Authorities say the attacker fired through a church window, and reporting indicates Westman was a former student at the adjacent school.
• MSNBC analyst Christopher O’Leary, a former FBI counterterrorism official now with The Soufan Group, said investigators will review videos, manifestos and activity on platforms such as Reddit to assess motive and influences.
• O’Leary suggested unconfirmed factors that can contribute to radicalization, including pandemic isolation, online communities, family dynamics and the ‘gamification’ of violence in video games.
• The Minnesota Star Tribune, citing court filings, reported a 2019 name-change application signed by Westman’s mother to reflect the suspect’s female identity, and other reports say the mother worked at the church.