US officials sift through tangle of online grievances by Minneapolis shooting suspect
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A vigil at a park in Minneapolis, the US, following a shooting earlier in the day at Annunciation Catholic Church in the city on Aug 27.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Dan Simmons, Talya Minsberg, Amy Harmon, Aric Toler and Michael Levenson
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MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota – Investigators on Aug 28 pored over writings and videos by the suspect in the Minneapolis Catholic school shooting
The alleged attacker’s social media accounts revealed a fascination with guns and school shooters, and also clues that the attack had been planned in advance, including a drawing of a church’s interior.
They also included anti-Semitic and racist language, threats against US President Donald Trump, transgender flags and the slogan “Defend Equality”.
Parts of an extensive journal, posted on YouTube, were written in Cyrillic, the alphabet used in many Slavic countries, including Russia and Ukraine.
The shooting on Aug 27 during an all-school mass at the Annunciation Catholic Church in south Minneapolis killed an eight-year-old and a 10-year-old in the pews.
City officials said on Aug 28 they had identified another child who was wounded in the shooting, bringing the total number of injured children to 15.
Three adults in their 80s were also injured, the police said.
A dozen people remained hospitalised on the morning of Aug 28, including several in serious or critical condition.
The suspect, Robin Westman, 23, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the police said.
According to court papers, when the shooter was 17, she identified as female and legally changed her name to Robin from Robert.
Investigators believe she was a former student at the school, where her mother once worked.
Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said investigators were open to all possibilities as they look for a possible motive and find out if there was a “triggering event” that led to the shooting.
“We have not been able to narrow it down to one specific motivation, but our investigators are continuing on that path,” he said on CNN.
“But I think what is unfortunate is the public is expecting answers and, in some way, expecting us to try and make sense of this.
“And the reality is, this is completely senseless and just an unthinkable tragedy.”
He said the shooter had tried to get inside the church but the doors had been locked after the mass began.
“Not being able to get into the church likely saved countless lives,” the chief said on the Today show.
Here is what else there is to know:
Wounded patients: Nine gunshot victims remain at Hennepin County Medical Centre, hospital officials said on Aug 28, including one adult and one child in serious condition, and one child in critical condition. Three other children remain at Children’s Minnesota, a Minneapolis hospital with a trauma centre.
A grieving city: The shooting, which took place two days after the school year began, set off another wave of mourning in Minneapolis, a city already reeling from a spate of gun violence this week and the assassination of a state senator in June.
Traumatised survivors: The children of Annunciation Catholic School are among the nearly 400,000 American children who have been exposed to gun violence at school. Experts say
children who survive school shootings
deal with feelings that range from anxiety and grief to guilt and shame. NYTIMES
