Christian leaders are offering their reactions after a 23-year-old trans-identified individual named Robin Westman, who legally changed his name from Robert in 2020, opened fire at a mass Wednesday morning at Annunciation Church and Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, killing two children before shooting himself.
According to authorities, Westman stood outside the church building and fired into the sanctuary from the windows. The two deceased children were ages 10 and 8. Westman wounded 17 others, 14 of whom were children.
While an official motive is still pending, videos of Westman online show him expressing anti-Christian and antisemitic views on gun magazines and even calling for the killing of President Donald Trump.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said at a press conference shortly after the shooting that it was "an unthinkable tragedy" that occurred during the first week of school.
"The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible," O'Hara said. "The coward who fired these shots ultimately took his own life in the rear of the church."
"Our hearts are broken for the families who have lost their children, for these young lives that are now fighting to recover, and for our entire community that has been so deeply traumatized by this senseless attack."
Here are reactions from five Christian leaders to Westman's attack.
