Two killed in Minneapolis school shooting

An assailant fired a rifle through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis where students were celebrating their first Mass of the new school year, the police said, killing an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old. The attacker also injured 17 people, including 14 children, and died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Here’s the latest.

Investigators have identified the shooter as Robin Westman, 23, who is believed to have been a former student at the school. The suspect’s mother is a retired school employee, a law enforcement official said.

A youth minister at the church said that she had been sitting with children in the pews when bullets flew through the windows and that the shooting had lasted about two minutes. “I was just feet away from this window,” she said in an interview. “The pew saved my life.”

The Minneapolis police chief, Brian O’Hara, said that the attacker had been armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, all purchased legally. The suspect’s social media accounts contain videos of diary entries that describe the killing of children and a drawing of the Annunciation Church’s sanctuary. The videos also show weapons, bullets and what appear to be explosive devices scrawled with violent language.

Chief O’Hara said that investigators were examining the shooter’s YouTube account, which had been taken offline with the help of the F.B.I. “We don’t have a motive at this time,” he said.