Two children killed and 17 others injured in shooting at Minneapolis school

At least two students have been killed and 17 others wounded after a shooting on Wednesday morning at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.

Speaking at a press conference, Minneapolis chief of police Brian O'Hara slammed the "sheer cruelty and cowardice" of the shooting which happened at the school's church during morning mass.

Armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, 23-year-old Robin Westman approached the side of the church and shot dozens of rounds through the windows toward the children sitting in the pews during Mass at the Annunciation Catholic School just before 8:30 am, O’Hara said. He said the shooter then died by suicide.

The children who died were 8 and 10. Fourteen other kids and three octogenarian parishioners were wounded but expected to survive, the chief said.

The state’s governor, Tim Walz, called the attack "horrific."

"I'm praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence," he wrote in a post on X.

Children's Minnesota, a paediatric trauma hospital, said in a statement five children were admitted for care. Hennepin Healthcare, Minnesota's largest emergency department, said it also was caring for patients from the shooting.

As police, FBI and other federal agents and ambulances converged on the school, President Donald Trump said in a Truth Social post that he was briefed on the "tragic shooting" and that the White House would continue to monitor it.

FBI Director Kash Patel said on X that the shooting is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.

O’Hara said police hadn’t yet found any relationship between the shooter and the church, nor determined a motive for the bloodshed. The chief said, however, that investigators were examining a social media post that appeared to show the shooter at the scene.

The police chief added Westman did not have an extensive known criminal history and is believed to have acted alone.

The school was evacuated, and students' families later were directed to a "reunification zone" at the school.

Dating to 1923, the pre-kindergarten to 13-14 years school was holding a morning mass on the first day of term, according to its website.

Recent social media posts from the school show children smiling at a back-to-school event, holding up summer art projects, playing together and enjoying ice pops.

The gunfire was the latest in a series of fatal shootings in the city in less than 24 hours.

One person was killed and six others were hurt in a shooting on Tuesday afternoon outside a high school in Minneapolis. Hours later, two people died in two other shootings in the city.

Wednesday's school shooting also followed a spate of hoax calls about purported shootings on at least a dozen US college campuses.

The bogus warnings, sometimes featuring gunshot sounds in the background, prompted universities to issue texts to “run, hide, fight” and frightened students around the nation as the school year begins.