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Shooter Opens Fire on Praying Students Through Church Windows in Minneapolis; 2 Children Killed, 14 Children and 3 Adults Hurt in School Shooting. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired August 27, 2025 - 14:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[14:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: We have breaking news. We have just learned that Minnesota Governor Tim Walz will be holding a press conference here in about an hour. This of course is coming after this deadly rampage at a Catholic school in Minneapolis.

Police have said that an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old were killed when a shooter targeted the Annunciation Catholic Church during what was the first all-school mass to be held during the new school year. As many as 14 kids were also injured, as well as three adults. Two kids at this hour are said to be in critical condition.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: CNN's Josh Campbell is back with us now. Josh, take us through this initial part of the police investigation. What stands out to you about what you've learned?

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'm told the police have identified the suspect. They are not in any hurry to provide that information publicly because we're not talking about someone who is at large. And that gives them the opportunity to try to gather as much information as they can about who this person was.

The level of depravity that stands out here, not only from obviously the venue, but also learning from police that this was someone who had boarded up some of the exits, presumably in order to try to keep people in that venue so that he could continue this attack for as long as possible. I mean, it just really tells you the character of this person.

[14:35:00]

And as I was saying earlier, you know, investigators always note that, you know, even if they find out what the motive is, that will often not make a lot of sense. Because investigators have studied past incidents and sometimes people might have various different grievances that are there than acting upon with violence. That doesn't make sense, obviously, to the rational person. We're talking about a horrific act here. But that is going on behind the scenes right now, trying to understand that motive.

Finally, I want to point out something else that is going on behind the scenes right now where no media camera will ever go. And I tell you, as someone who worked in law enforcement and has been inside these victim reunification centers, these victims assistance centers that are set up to try to provide some kind of comfort to the families that are being impacted by this, it is scarring for everyone to be in there. And, you know, although we're not going to get those images and see that, I can tell you firsthand, seeing someone get the news that their loved one may no longer be alive or has suffered some type of very serious injury is something that should break all of our hearts. And certainly I can tell you, in law enforcement, it is breaking their hearts as well.

There is one group of people in these types of situations that never get any credit. They don't seek it. It's the FBI and local police victims assistance specialists.

Their job is to help these families long after this tragedy goes on. The families will never be whole, but that is something that they try to do to provide that support. I only mention that because obviously the investigation is front of mind, but obviously all of us also thinking about those impacted.

KEILAR: Yes, and this is what happens at these events. I'm glad that you detail that, Josh, as people understand sort of the the horrors of what does go on after this for these families as they're awaiting news.

As we are looking right now -- and I know you say it's not going to make sense, right? It's not going to make sense whatever is uncovered about possible motive, but what it can maybe do for helping law enforcement be vigilant in the future and try to prevent other instances like this.

CAMPBELL: Absolutely. And the one major thing that stands out and obviously these incidents are so horrific, but what I'm about to say is so simple. And that is because these FBI profilers, others in law enforcement have studied these incidents. The FBI says that people don't just snap. That's a myth that all of a sudden someone just urgently wakes up and says, I'm going, you know, to try to kill a bunch of people.

This is what they call a pathway of violence where you have these people who are referred to as so-called injustice collectors or grievance collectors. They feel slighted. They feel that, you know, something has been done wrong to them, that they're now going to act on with violence. A lot of people -- a lot of times people will exhibit those signs, which is why it's incumbent upon all of us to think about those in our orbit, our loved ones.

If they appear to be on that pathway, are there various interventions that can happen that maybe can stop that person, get them the help they need? It doesn't excuse anything that this person did today. Obviously, this is a terrible, horrific act, but that is the continued message from law enforcement that people should be aware.

Is someone appearing that they're exhibiting possible warning signs of violence? And what can I do about it?

SANCHEZ: Josh Campbell, thank you so much for sharing that perspective with us.

Still to come, we have new details from Senator Amy Klobuchar on what happened inside the church as shots rang out. A former staffer of hers has a daughter who was in the room. We'll hear from the senator in just a moment. Stay with us.

[14:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota says that she is heartbroken by the horrific violence from today's deadly shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.

SANCHEZ: And she told our colleague, CNN's Dana Bash, that the daughter of one of her former staffers was inside the church when the shooting happened and that she had to watch as her friends got shot.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEN. AMY KLOBUCHAR (D-MN): One of my former employees who was with me a long time -- she said I could use her name Kate Nilan -- her daughter, Cora, was in there. She was one of the older kids.

This is a pre-K through eighth grade school. Loved school in the neighborhood, beloved school with all the parents, and that church is right there next to it.

So, the kids were in the mass, and they were packed in there. And so, this girl, seventh, eighth grade, literally watched her friends, some of her best friends be shot, one in the neck, one in the stomach. And when they were running out, when they finally got out, she was the one, this child, who had to tell one of her friend's dad's that the friend had been shot.

And, of course, the chaos who would ensue in any place when there's a mass shooting like this. And the other information, you know, that I got from the mayor and others were, of course, consistent with what you've heard. This was a man, a mad man, acting alone. Somehow knows about this ceremony. All those facts will come out, standing outside of this mass and shooting one by one by one, these kids down, as they're praying in the church.

There were also adults that were shot. And I'm sure as we hear the details on this, the stories of these people trying to get out those doors, trying to scramble underneath the pews, which is what they were told to do to protect themselves.

[14:45:00]

I know they're going to be tragic, but there will also be stories of heroism, stories of faith, stories of parents and others helping each other. But it is -- when you think about what happened here and the fact that he had these three guns, multiple guns, I believe it was something over some kind of grievance that may not even involve the school. And we will -- those facts will be revealed when the police have thoroughly investigated them. But this is a time, as the mayor said, this could be -- these just aren't someone else's kids.

Anyone can imagine on the first day of school. I remember this dropping your child off to a bus or bringing them to the school, thinking they're going to be safe. It's just the most horrific thing any parent -- and I know you are a parent as well, Dana -- any parent can imagine.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: And we do have breaking news. We are learning about the identity of the individual behind this horror that we saw there in Minneapolis today. Law enforcement has identified the shooter as Robin Westman. This is according to multiple law enforcement officials who have been briefed on the matter.

SANCHEZ: We are continuing to follow the latest details about this shooter. Apparently, they targeted the Annunciation Catholic Church and school specifically trying to barricade people inside as they shot through the windows. Police say an eight year old and a 10 year old are dead, at least two kids right now in the hospital in critical condition.

We're going to take a quick break and get you the latest on the identity of the shooter, as well as potential motives and why this took place as soon as we come back.

[14:50:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: We're hearing now from Pope Leo about this shooting at this Catholic school today in Minneapolis. In a statement, the pope saying that he was, quote, Profoundly saddened to learn about the shooting. The statement going on to say that he sends his heartfelt condolences and the assurance of spiritual closeness to all those affected by this terrible tragedy, especially the families now grieving the loss of a child.

Leo, of course, is the first American leader of the Catholic Church.

SANCHEZ: We want to get a different perspective on the impact of this shooting on the children and families affected by this with a child psychiatrist now. She's the author of Reset Your Child's Brain. Dr. Victoria Dunckley joins us now. Doctor, thanks so much for being with us.

Obviously, we've talked about the trauma that the victims have endured. Two children killed, 14 kids and three adults now being treated. I wonder, though, what this does to such a young mind being exposed to such violence in right in their faces, right in front of them.

DR. VICTORIA DUNCKLEY, CHILD PSYCHIATRIST: Yes, so kids, different kids will handle trauma differently. Obviously, this is, you know, one of the worst things imaginable that a child could be exposed to. And it's not just, you know, initially I was thinking it's similar to a child who is exposed to war experiences.

But this is almost worse because it's so unexpected and out of the blue in a place where they thought they would be -- they were safe and sacred and, you know, all of those things. So just the sheer unexpectedness of it is traumatic in addition to what actually happened. So kids who were obviously who were close by and saw things, felt things, had a somatic -- will have a somatic memory of it, those kids are going to have trauma.

But other kids will have trauma, too, if they were nearby or knew these other children. They can also have similar symptoms that look very much like post-traumatic stress disorder. So there might be more crying, nightmares, flashbacks if they were actually exposed.

Some children feel numb and have trouble feeling things or they lose interest in things. Other kids start losing, you know, losing interest in school or can't focus. And it can also kind of come in waves.

So some children might, you might see a bunch of things and then they seem like they're getting better and then things come up again. So over time, the way it unfolds, it's complex. But obviously this is horrible and it's just heartbreaking. My heart goes out to them as well.

KEILAR: Yes, it is. It is so heartbreaking. And, you know, I think as we're looking at this and we've been here before, what we're always hoping, Victoria, is, OK, so what does this tell us about how we can prevent this from happening again? And that's always the discussion we come back to, right?

So when you're thinking -- obviously, easy access to weapons is always at play in this. But on the mental health piece, what should teachers, what should community leaders, what should parents, friends, what should they be on the lookout for as risk factors and what can they be doing?

DUNCKLEY: I think a lot of, you know, we have this campaign now, if you see something, say something. So that has been helpful. We want to know when someone's talking -- I mean, often these shooters have talked about it in some way, online or with friends or whatever, multiple times before something actually happens. So when other people say something and alert authorities, alert adults, 988 is the crisis hotline for not just suicide, but other crises as well.

[14:55:00]

So alerting authorities, figuring out what the school's policy is, if it's in the context of school, you know, and we're involving kids. Knowing all those things beforehand so that if you do hear something, you know what avenues to take. But I think also, you know, we're getting better at kind of flagging these individuals, but then what? So I think that is still where there needs to be a lot of work. Often these individuals feel very disconnected from society and disenfranchised, and they're very angry, and they also have a lot of, you know, it's a suicide wish, really, for these shooters.

So we need to look at, like, when we flag these individuals, how do we help them feel more connected? How do we give them a sense of purpose? How do we include them? A lot of them, you know, are kind of isolated, spend a lot of time online. They may have been bullied or likely have been bullied or be a bully.

So kind of figuring out all those interventions and helping them feel connected is one thing, I think. And also teaching children to, like, include others, too. I think a lot of the social media stuff that's going on with bullying and it's creating this whole culture of antisocial behavior.

And also we know that people are -- young people are developing with less empathy. Like, empathy develop as affected is being undermined. Obviously not everyone's going to go on to be a shooter, but we know that empathy scores have been dropping.

So figuring out how to have more face-to-face time, more eye contact with people. It's not just about trying to get more mental health resources in there, although that's important, too. It's really about helping people feel connected in a human way.

KEILAR: Yes, spending that time and seeking that connection. Great insights. Dr. Victoria Dunckley, thank you so much for being with us.

DUNCKLEY: Thank you. Thank you for having me.

KEILAR: Next hour, we are expecting to hear from law enforcement and city and state officials updating the latest from Minneapolis after today's shooting at the Annunciation Catholic School.

We're also expecting to hear from Governor Tim Walz here in about a half hour. So we'll be keeping an eye on that and we'll be bringing that to you. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END