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Laura Coates Live

Shooting Kills Two Children, Injures 17 at Minneapolis Catholic School; Mayor: Not About Thoughts & Prayers, "Kids Were Literally Praying'; Police: Rifle, Shotgun, Pistol Used in Shooting Were Legally Bought. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired August 28, 2025 - 00:00   ET

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

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LAURA COATES, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, everyone. I'm Laura Coates in Minneapolis, a few feet away from the Annunciation School right here, right behind me, where the marquee continues to welcome students on their first week of school, knowing the tragedy that unfolded today as a shooter killing two children, eight and 10 years old, wounding 14 others, and also adults.

As we're waiting to hear more word about their conditions as we speak, this is a day when it was unbelievable to think about the shots that were fired while children were praying at mass.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIAN O'HARA, MINNEAPOLIS POLICE CHIEF: The coward that shot these victims took his own life in the rear of the church. That coward has been identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman. No prior criminal history. As to the weapons used to perpetrate this horrific attack, there was a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol. All three had been lawfully purchased by the shooter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: We're also learning more about the legal name change of that shooter from Robert to Robin. Also, the carnage that could have been and the tragedy that really is today. But the heroics that took place not only from first responders but from staff and also from children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT DEBOER, ANNUNCIATION CATHOLIC SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: Older children were protecting younger children. And as we heard earlier, it could have been significantly worse without their heroic action. This is a nightmare, but we call our staff the dream team, and we will recover from this. We will rebuild from this. When we plan for this school year, we intentionally chose a theme from the Prophet Jeremiah, chapter 29, a future filled with hope. There's nothing about today that can fill us with hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: I want to bring in Shimon Prokupecz here, who has been here at the very beginning.

I mean, this was this morning around 8:30, which parents school age people know, that's just about the time you're dropping off your child to know that this unfolded. Walk me through what happened today.

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: So, right. And the timing of this, it's early in the morning. The children are going, making their way into the church. Morning prayer. It's the first week of school. We're into the third day. And --

COATES: And there was a whole school doing this.

PROKUPECZ: It was the whole school doing this. And what happens is, according to police, is the gunman uses plywood, well, pieces of wood to barricade the doors and then goes to a window and starts firing at children through the window during prayer service.

COATES: While they're sitting in the pews praying.

PROKUPECZ: While they're sitting in the pews praying. And that's when the gunfire starts and then --

COATES: And he's barricading it from the outside so you can't get out?

PROKUPECZ: Yes. So you couldn't get out. And they believe he -- that this was done to try and prevent people from leaving because there was this -- they believe that the shooter wanted to create even more carnage, more damage. But that goes to sort of the level of planning here, it appears, from the shooter. Knowing where to go, knowing where, which window to go, knowing something about those doors and the ability to use this wood to barricade those doors.

COATES: This wasn't spontaneous.

PROKUPECZ: This was not spontaneous. And also one of the things that is -- that authorities are looking at are all the writings. They've four search warrants at various locations, and they've been able to get all of the writings that they believe are from the shooter. They also have YouTube video, other videos that the shooter posted, and they're poring through all of this, but nothing is really pointing to one specific thing that the shooter was upset about, that perhaps led to this.

There's so much hate towards everyone. And like everything and different things that it's very difficult for investigators right now to pinpoint a motive. And tomorrow we'll hear more from them. I think they've been very transparent here, trying to provide as much information as possible, but they can't lean --

COATES: Which is not always the case.

PROKUPECZ: It's not always the case, but they're not willing to lean into that one motive yet. And I don't know if they're going to get there. You know, they're dealing they believe with someone who has some serious mental health issues. There's no indication that this person ever went for any kind of professional help. Not -- at least not -- they've not been able to come across any of that yet.

So what was going on? They're trying to figure that out. They're trying to get that picture, paint that picture of this person. What was going on in their life and their family.

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COATES: But that's law enforcement. What's the community feeling tonight?

PROKUPECZ: It's been -- it's been heart-wrenching. I went to a vigil here just a couple of hours ago, and it was remarkable, Laura, to see the number of people that showed up. It was at a local school, in the gym there, and the line was out the door. People got there early. They really wanted to be inside. It was about 2,000 people there, standing room only. The governor was there. Senator Klobuchar was there. Other officials, kids, parents. You could tell there were people there who were in this this morning.

COATES: Was the emotion like?

PROKUPECZ: They were crying. A lot of people were crying. People were hugging. They were just so happy to see their friends and be with their family and be with their community. And that's -- that gave me hope. You know, it's just the sense that people so quickly wanted to get together, knew they should get together and did. And then, you know, as we were leaving, people were bringing pizza in for people to eat. And they were doing a prayer service, but it felt so nice in some way just to see that, to see this community gather so quickly.

And the number of people that were showing up was just incredible, incredible to watch. And, you know, I was -- I did talk to one woman there and, you know, she thanked me for being there and whatever. But then she's, I said, this feels like it's about hope. And she said, yes, that's what this is about. And you know, we're not going to let this take over. And that's what this is about. It's about hope.

And no doubt that, you know, we cover so many of these stories and these communities, they suffer so much after these moments. And you know, I was really moved by the show of support tonight from this community. And they said, this is what we're about.

COATES: Yes. I mean, I'm always concerned. You and I talked about this a lot over the years about what happens when the lights go down and people have the quiet moments of reflection to know there's still a community there to support them.

PROKUPECZ: It's the hardest time.

COATES: So important. I want to turn now to John Miller, though, because the questions about law enforcement and where things go from here.

John, I know the word motive comes up for everyone, but walk me through what law enforcement is going to do. How did they investigate? We heard from Shimon and others about there being special writings they found. What are they finding?

JOHN MILLER, CNN CHIEF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND INTELLIGENCE ANALYST: So they've been doing those search warrants. Shimon referenced the four search warrants. One is in the church just to obtain property videos, evidence, but the other three are at residence locations that are associated with the shooters. One of the things they're looking for is that book that he posted on the video. He paged through every page of it.

It's written in Cyrillic, which is an Eastern European alphabet. And they really have to get all of that translated. What they've seen so far is mostly about his unhappiness written in that book. His intentions to want to end his own life, but nothing that really directs them towards a motive. More of what they feel will point them towards some version of motivation is what's in the videos he took, where he shows his array of weapons and the writing on the weapons, where he mentions the shooter from the Norway shooting, which was at a camp on an island where 77 people were killed, including children.

He's written that name onto one of the rifles. He writes the name of the New Zealand shooter who killed 51 people in mosques. He has writing that says, "This is for the children. Where is your God now?" So he's sending messages that he intends to be found by law enforcement on those magazines as he drops them at the scene after emptying the rifles on the rifles themselves. And the people he's identifying with in those messages are racist, hate-based people who believe in the great replacement theory that, you know, America must be all white and European and that everybody else should go back to wherever their national origin was and live there.

And yet that wording, while he pays homage to these other shooters, doesn't appear in the preliminary looks that we've had at his long writings. So we've got a salad bar of different grievances, different motivations, and yet, Laura, this is the important and most disturbing part. Whatever of those was or wasn't his motives, a mostly white school with mostly white children, in a church where he once attended school -- at that school where his mom once worked at one time, his victimology has nothing to do with any of these purported motives.

What I'm trying to say in the long way is we waste a lot of time trying to attach a motive that's going to make sense to us so we can say, oh, that's what it's about.

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We have a deeply disturbed individual here who had deep problems in his life and blamed all kinds of other people for it, and took it out on the most defenseless people he could find, in the most vulnerable situation he could find them in.

COATES: So knowing, knowing that there might never be hope of obviously rationale or coherent thoughts that could distill into a motive, where does law enforcement go? Is it simply a matter of being retrospective? Did they have an eye towards figuring out how close the universe is? MILLER: It's very important actually because while they may not

determine a motive that you and I would think of as a motive, the real reason why, what they will do, and this is why they have a full-on investigation into an individual who cannot be charged. He's dead. He cannot be brought to trial. He's gone. But the reason for all this digging, Laura, and you know, you know this from your experience in the Justice Department, is they're going to want to feed all of that to the FBI's behavioral science unit, to the profilers, to the people who work on the psychological end of these things.

And what are they looking for? They're looking for those common threads between this shooter and the covenant school shooter who shot up the little kids in that church-run school in Nashville, Tennessee, who was confronted in the middle of the shooting by police and shot and neutralized. They're going to look at it against the shooter, who walked into 345 Park Avenue here in New York City a month ago with grievances and what they're going to look for are what were the signs that were around them, to people who know, so that -- and I want the audience to get this now.

FBI.gov/prevent, that is the behavioral science -- the behavioral analysis unit's Web site, where they have literally the tools where all the results of these studies are laid out so people know what should you be looking for. Well, what are the early indicators? Well, what is the kind of thing you should report?

COATES: Yes.

MILLER: And if you don't want to call the FBI, to whom should you report it? A guidance counselor, a teacher, a friend, a grown-up. All of these are really useful tools because if we wait for the politicians and the law, we may all either die -- we may all die of old age or from active shooters. But these are tools that people can use right now.

COATES: John Miller, thank you so much for that insight. We appreciate it.

I want to bring in more voices to this conversation to really understand where things go from here. And I'm joined now by the former Minneapolis police chief. He's by my side as well. Medaria Arradondo. Also here the former chief of Homeland Security and Intelligence for the government in Washington, D.C., Donell Harvin. Also joins us here with his expertise is retired FBI supervisory special agent Daniel Brunner.

Thank you all. First of all, I'll begin with you on this idea of what questions do you have as a former member of law enforcement in terms of guiding an investigation of this sort, particularly when the person who was committed the crime is dead?

MEDARIA ARRADONDO, FORMER MINNEAPOLIS POLICE CHIEF: Well, Laura, I think certainly the questions I have is, did anyone else know about where this shooter's mindset was at prior to committing this horrific act? What were his relationship with his family members, whether it was yesterday, whether it was a month ago or two months ago? What was his relationship with his coworkers?

I'd also want to know close friends, social media, people that he was engaging with in social media. Those are things that I would want to know. I didn't have a chance to overhear all of what our CNN security expert, John Miller, was saying at the studio, but I think he said, referenced something that some of these cases we don't end up finding what that motive was.

COATES: Right.

ARRADONDO: But if there's an opportunity from doing a thorough investigation on the profile of this individual that can lead us to perhaps preventing or intercepting the next one, then that is always going to be beneficial to certainly law enforcement and also the victims and their family members. And so those are the questions right now at this time that I would want to really take a dive into.

COATES: Really important and insightful.

Donell Harvin, I want to go to you here because I am really curious about the profile that's being built about this particular individual. And as John was indicating the idea of how this goes into the behavioral sciences sort of operations at the FBI and beyond to try to figure out how this could be useful in the prevention or, you know, rooting out of others who might have this on their mind.

What from what you've learned today would be the most helpful in trying to establish that profile?

DONELL HARVIN, FORMER CHIEF OF HOMELAND SECURITY AND INTELLIGENCE, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA: Yes. So even though the shooter is dead, we can't give up on understanding the motivation because that information, as the chief just said, is going to be analyzed and go into a pile of information, a database.

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Now, the FBI will have access to that nationwide. But really where the rubber hits the road is at the state and local level. Most state and local authorities have what we call a threat assessment center. In fact, the first lady actually tweeted out today a really nuanced perspective about having more of those capabilities.

This information will be sent widely to other jurisdictions so they can actually start looking at within their jurisdiction these type of events. Every active shooter, every mass shooter has a different profile. And so the more we understand about their motivations and where they got to where they were going is going to be helpful for other jurisdictions.

We're not done with this story yet. And other jurisdictions, unfortunately, are going to have to face this type of tragedy.

COATES: Daniel, an ominous, perhaps warning from our colleague Donell, but perhaps true. I wonder, could this have been prevented, given that this person we often go to, well, was the gun purchased illegally? Is there a way to track that down? Was there any red flags? Was this person known to law enforcement? All those lists of factors we have sadly become accustomed to. This person doesn't seem to have a prior criminal history. Is that the only way for us to try to prevent these tragedies?

DANIEL BRUNNER, RETIRED FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: Well, those are great questions, but the problem that we're going to see is violating certain, you know, constitutional rights and, you know, medical protections and have -- you know, your file with your doctors and things like that. So there needs to be the discussion. There needs to be the analysis, the investigation, working with the behavioral analysis unit.

John was saying it perfectly is they're going to take everything that happened here today and going back years until they see at which point the pathway to violence began, and then they're going to go behind that and to see what created that indication to go on the pathway to violence. They're going to take all of this data, all of this, and analyze it against all the previous incidents to look for more abilities to raise red flags in advance, to create the triggers that other law enforcement agencies, state, local and other federal agencies don't have to rely on people because sometimes people are hesitant and nervous about turning somebody in.

So they're going to create this, you know, task force, I'm sure, to try and get this information out there and disseminate it so the state and locals and the federal agencies can all work together to find at which point, all along that pathway to violence, I'm sure there were opportunities to trigger and raise red flags. And that's what we're going to be looking at right now with this investigation.

COATES: Chief, we know that law enforcement have conducted, I think at this point, four search warrants and that includes three residences that have been linked to the shooter. What do you think they're trying to find in that search warrant? We're talking about electronic devices, other writings. What?

ARRADONDO: Well, I think they're also -- as part of that, they're certainly want to see if there's any more forensic analysis they can do. Laptops, other cell phones. That's going to be important. But those other residents, you know, were these places where, you know, he was couch hopping. Are they friends, other family members? Is there evidence there that might lead them to someone else who might have known about this, who might have aided and abetted?

So, so those three residences, those search warrants are going to be very important. Are there other weapons that were cached there as well? So all of that is going to be very important. And obviously as well those investigators are going to be talking to the people who might be associated with those residences as well.

COATES: On that point, Donell, the idea of looking and expanding sort of that web, trying to figure out who else might know something, obviously, one of the things we often look at, as a prosecutor thinking about accountability in these factors and what can be done, there's a political accountability, though, that comes into the conversation that we often hear about. And you referenced the First Lady Melania Trump's tweets earlier today.

And one of the things that she spoke about was that this tragedy, she said, underscored, the words, the need for preemptive intervention. What would that look like, given what, of course, Daniel has expressed, is obviously HIPAA violations could come into play, the idea of privacy issues as well? What would that preemptive intervention possibly look like?

HARVIN: Well, we really just started getting good at this stuff about 10 years, and it's called the behavioral threat assessment. And that's actually done at the local level. Some school districts have them. I was commending the first lady because she's actually out there -- she's actually out there talking about something I always talk about nationwide. The problem is, unfortunately, and I hate to make this political, but this is where we're at.

The current administration actually slashed a lot of the funding to these grant programs, such as the Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention Programs that actually funds programs that she's talking about.

[00:20:09]

And so what we need to do is get back to these programs. They're widely used and really touted by the federal government as effective.

COATES: Let me ask you, Daniel, about this. I mean, the idea of domestic terrorism more broadly. Obviously, there is a specific definition when it comes to terrorism, and it's not just something that is terrifying to a community. We're talking about how to prosecute it or not. But the idea that the FBI is looking at this for possibly hate crimes, domestic terrorism, what does that investigation look like without the pure motive?

BRUNNER: Well, I investigated, I was on domestic terrorism squad in New Jersey for four years investigating white supremacy. So this is a very difficult area because there is no federal statute for domestic terrorism. So they will be looking at it from different angles of civil rights violations. What were the motivations of why he conducted the attack? So to actually charge somebody with domestic terrorism, it can't be done currently.

It's something that we champion for as FBI agents that there should be domestic terrorism charges. Hopefully this will motivate, you know, Congress to change the, you know, some federal statutes, but it's trying to look at it from multiple angles whereas an international terrorism, there are a little bit more difficult. You have to look at it from multiple different angles.

COATES: Really important to think about those angles and what I want to end with you, Chief, quickly, I mean, you have led the city of Minneapolis through previous tragedies, when there's been a huge community reaction to it as well. How do you help the community sit in their faith?

ARRADONDO: You know, it was noted that the Bicentennial for Annunciation this year is a future filled with hope. Minneapolitans, and I know this very well, we believe that hope is not just a mood, it's a practice. And so from this day forward and Mayor Jacob Frey has talked about this, certainly Chief O'Hara, we are going to surround our community with the love, support, be there for the victims.

You know, those two precious souls that we no longer have with us, the eight and 10-year-old, their family members, we're going to continue to surround our city and our neighbors with the love and support they need to heal through this. It can be difficult, but I have seen and experienced that Minneapolis and the people here have the resilience, have that hope that they practice and have love for each other here.

COATES: Really powerful words.

Thank you all so much for your perspective.

Up next, we're going to speak with a local community leader to give us the latest on how the community is coping with this tragedy.

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GOV. TIM WALZ (D), MINNESOTA: We often come to these and say these unspeakable tragedies or there's no words for this. There shouldn't be words for these types of incidents because they should not happen.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEITH ELLISON, MINNESOTA ATTORNEY GENERAL: My thoughts and what I'm thinking about is a national ban on assault rifles. My prayer, my prayer is a national ban on these assault rifles.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: The conversations around what could happen and how to prevent the tragedy we see here today at Annunciation Catholic School here in Minneapolis. It's the 44th, the 44th school shooting this year. School just started this week in the new academic year. And the debate has renewed about what can be done particularly about gun rights and restrictions.

And I'm joined here this evening from the former Minnesota state senator and minority leader, Melisa Lopez Franzen, who reminds us as well that just earlier this year, Minnesota suffered another tragedy, the death of a dear friend of hers, as well. A representative and speaker of the House, Melissa Hortman.

Thank you for being here. I mean, this was the first week of school here. I mean, Saint Paul, other communities starting next week as well. Families are reeling about what has happened here. What could have been done, anything politically to talk about how this could be solved?

MELISA LOPEZ FRANZEN, FORMER MINNESOTA STATE SENATOR AND SENATE MINORITY LEADER: Well, first of all, lots of kids are in school, including my own. Today I put one of them on the bus for their first day of school. And my older one, my husband dropped him off and as I'm leaving the house, I hear this news and no parent wants to hear this.

My initial reaction as a parent, not even as a policy maker or former, was making sure that those kids were safe. And it behooves -- it's incumbent on all of us to do something, but policy-making obviously there's things we've done in Minnesota. We're not going to be able to do it all by legislation. I think we have to have more public trust in not just our institutions, our politicians, our government, but also on each other and our neighbors. So we can't legislate that.

So a lot of it can be done by legislation, but a lot of it has to be people mobilizing and really, demanding change. And the change is getting these guns out of the hands of people who should not have them and guns that should not even be in the hands of civilians.

COATES: And that challenge of even identifying who those people are, if there's not a known criminal record or some other red flag indication of some kind, but the community, as you talk about, the community has to try to cope by legislating collectively in some way. How can the community do that?

LOPEZ FRANZEN: Well, right now in Minnesota, this is not the first tragedy, you mentioned that. We've had shooting in a school many, many years ago. So it hasn't happened in a long time. But legislated around this really takes people and elected officials to commit to change: to voting for these laws that would improve people's lives and the safety of everyone, not just in schools, but in your home.

So, I know after the shooting, the tragic assassination of Speaker Hortman and her husband, Mark, who were my friends, there will be debate about this in the Minnesota legislature, but there should be debate about this all over our nation to finally take action.

And we heard that from the mayor today. We've heard that from a lot of legislators that are currently elected here in Minnesota. But it also has to come from the community. So, we have to mobilize.

COATES: What does that action look like, when you're talking about we understand the guns were purchased legally. Also, recently. The idea of the FBI and others trying to somehow reverse engineer how we got to this moment.

But what will those debates look like, do you think, on the floors of state congresses all across the nation?

FRANZEN: Well, a lot of it, you talk about potentially hardening schools or potentially having police resource officers in schools. And we've had those debates.

But let's take a step back of how foundational we have to take care of people's, not just their physical health, but their mental health. And we've been cutting budgets on mental health and on health care for a long, long time.

So, let's also look at the root of the problem, the services that we can provide families and schools in Minnesota. We have some of the worst ratios on counselors.

And these are kids that need support to be -- they're -- they're growing up in a different environment, not the environment that I grew up in, that we didn't have to duck for school shootings. We only had to worry about a potential, environmental event, not someone coming to a school to shoot.

So, the environment has changed. We need -- we need to make sure we support our schools, our teachers, our professionals. And it's not all about arming them.

In fact, we should be having healthier communities by having healthier conversations of funding supports for schools like counselors, but also health supports like mental health. And we're right now in a moment where we're cutting a lot of those resources for families.

COATES: Is there the appetite, you think, especially now when you're facing a tragedy like this, is -- is this the kind of motivation to get people to understand the need for what you have said?

FRANZEN: If this is not the moment, I don't know what would. We've had this happen before in other instances, in other states and around our nation.

But in Minnesota, this is the moment that we have to take action. And we can. We have. We've -- we've done this when we've had other tragic events. We've come together from both sides of the aisle and brought legislation forward. We've passed red flag -- red flag laws. We've had also background checks passed in the state of Minnesota just recently.

Those are good steps forward, and we have to do more. They deserve this. These kids deserve this, and our kids and our future. This is the worst day of a lot of these families' lives for the rest of their lives.

COATES: Thank you so much for your words.

FRANZEN: Thank you.

COATES: A tragedy that should never have happened. Unimaginable. Three guns were used, as well, in this shooting. We're going to talk to a gun expert next. Help us unpack it all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PEDRO MALDONADO, PARENT OF STUDENTS AT ANNUNCIATION CATHOLIC SCHOOL: They opened the church, and I walked inside the church with the police officer, with the first one. And the things that I saw, I don't wish any parent will see ever in their lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR JACOB FREY (D), MINNEAPOLIS: It's on all of us to recognize the truth and the reality that we can't just say that this shouldn't happen again and then allow it to happen again and again beyond that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: There are new questions tonight about the weapons that were used to carry out today's tragic and horrific shooting. The Annapolis police chief said that they [SIC] was a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol that was used in this event.

And we're learning the shooter actually purchased them legally. And I believe recently, as well.

Joining me now, CNN contributor and firearms reporter for TheReload.com, Stephen Gutowski. He is also a gun safety instructor.

Stephen, talk to me about these weapons that were used. What more can you tell us about these types?

STEPHEN GUTOWSKI, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Certainly, from the video that we've seen from the shooter, it appears that they have an AR-15 semi- automatic rifle, a pump action shotgun, a 12 gauge, and then there's actually four guns in the video. There's a semiautomatic pistol and a revolver, as well. It's not clear which of those two handguns the shooter used.

But certainly, what is clear is that these are extremely popular styles of firearms, in fact, the most popular in the country, from the AR-15 to the pump action shotgun to the semiautomatic handgun. These are -- they're very common firearms.

COATES: How easy are they to get or difficult would they be to get, even though they're common?

GUTOWSKI: Right. So, because this shooter didn't have a disqualifying criminal record or mental health record, in Minnesota, it would be the process of going to a gun store and buying the shotgun. Same day.

You have to go through a background check, of course, if you're going through to a gun dealer, although in Minnesota, they have universal background checks. So, even if he was making a private purchase, he'd still have to go through the background check.

They do have some additional restrictions on the handgun and the AR-15 in Minnesota, where you need a permit to purchase those. And there's a seven-day waiting period. But if you don't have a disqualifying record, you would still be able to go through that and -- and acquire the guns.

COATES: You know, Minnesota does actually have red flag laws. We're learning more about them, of course, tonight and we're investigating even more about them. And they're really aimed at stopping people who pose a risk to themselves or to others from being able to get or maintain their guns.

We know that this shooter had written about or been speaking about, in some respects, feelings of self-hatred, wishing to die.

If that had been raised to law enforcement, would that have been enough to stop this, to stop the acquisition or retention of these guns?

GUTOWSKI: Most likely, yes. That's generally how red flag laws work, right? They allow a judge to temporarily confiscate someone's firearms if they have been determined to be a threat to themselves or others.

And so, Minnesota does have a law like that, and it seems nobody raised that red flag in this case.

Of course, you don't necessarily even need the red flag laws to do something like that. If somebody is exhibiting very serious signs of a mental health spiral like this person appeared to be in the lead-up to this shooting, as is often the case with these kinds of horrific attacks, you can also, you know, try to have somebody involuntarily committed or adjudicated mentally ill as a threat to themselves or others. And that would bar them from owning guns for life under federal law.

Of course, that process is more difficult, because it implicates, you know, a lot more legal protections and rights of the person involved.

COATES: You know, you're a gun safety instructor. Is there anything that you've been able to or could infer about the level of expertise and familiarity this shooter would have had with these weapons?

GUTOWSKI: Yes, I mean, certainly, you know, as I said at the top, these are very popular guns. So, a lot of people know how to shoot them.

But it's three different kinds of guns. Pump action, a semi-automatic rifle, a semi-automatic pistol or revolver. Additionally, there's a fourth gun in the video.

So, you would need some level of training, more than just going into a gun store and walking out the same day with knowledge of how to use each different platform.

So, I would imagine the gun -- the shooter had some level of experience beyond just absolute beginner level. And, you know, they, they were able to use three different types of firearm actions in this one shooting. So, that's what it tells me. There are at least a moderate expertise, moderate level of experience.

COATES: Sad to think any level of familiarity and what could have been prevented.

Stephen, thank you so much. Coming up next, a rabbi from another house of worship who is all too

familiar with what the community must be feeling tonight.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARLA MALDONADO, PARENT OF STUDENTS AT ANNUNCIATION CATHOLIC SCHOOL: My mind is going everywhere. Like, this is not the first time. I'm not the first parent to express these concerns. I'm not the first mom to say how many more kids have to get killed? And so, it's -- it's a little bit like -- this is feeling like a broken record, and it's not OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATT DEBOER, ANNUNCIATION CATHOLIC SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: We can't change the past, but we can do something about the future. There's an African proverb that says when you pray, move your feet. So, I beg you, I ask you to please pray, but don't stop with your words.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COATES: The shooting in Minneapolis is yet another attack on a house of worship. And we're learning, as well, the suspect had the name of a 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue shooting suspect and shooter that was written on one of the weapons.

The suspect also embraced a number of bigoted thoughts and ideologies, racist and antisemitic views in his writings.

And earlier today, I spoke with the Rabbi Hazzan Jeffrey Myers. Recall that he is the rabbi and cantor for the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COATES: Rabbi Myers, thank you so much for joining me tonight. This is such a somber occasion, and I can only imagine what thoughts must have gone through your mind when you learned that children, children were targeted, particularly in their time of prayer.

Can you just explain what was going through your mind?

RABBI HAZZAN JACOB MYERS, TREE OF LIFE SYNAGOGUE: The horror of it all. The pain, not just of -- of the families there but the pain in Minneapolis and the pain across America as we feel, Oh, no, not again.

[00:50:10]

COATES: Speaking of that, I mean, it was 2018, 11 of your congregants were lost. And you have written an op-ed recently, just talking about how closure

is still difficult for the community; to really even wrap their minds around what has happened and processed.

Any insight or thoughts you have for the community here who's just beginning that process?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gotcha.

MYERS: Right now, emotions are so raw. There's a disbelief. When you add all of that together, I don't think people right now fully comprehend the nature of what happened to them. The impact that this has, not just right now, but short term and long term. I think they have more questions than we're capable of even providing answers right now.

COATES: It's going to be a somber marking of a seven-year anniversary. Seven-year anniversary this October. And I know that when one hears news like we've heard today right here in Minneapolis, particularly in a place of worship, do you and your congregants still feel afraid even now?

MYERS: I couldn't give a blanket answer that covers every congregant. Yes, there are some that remain afraid, who have not returned to worship with us.

There are those who have not returned to worship anywhere, because they've lost their faith.

There are those who continue to struggle with the healing process.

There are those who feel that they have, indeed, healed and moved on to the next chapter in their lives.

So, we find all of that happening simultaneously amongst different people.

COATES: Now that we see children, who -- many of whom, the elementary school level. This is a school that goes from pre-K all the way. And just the thought that some who are still processing or trying to understand their faith have this possibly seared in their mind.

What guidance could you possibly extend to a child who is trying to wrap their mind about, which adults like you and I are still just reeling from?

MYERS: That's a wonderful question. It's not easy to just say to a child, Don't be afraid. Your parents are here. Because they've just experienced the worst horror that they could imagine, or even not even imagine, that it goes beyond that.

COATES: Yes.

MYERS: I think it's not about any individual. I think it's about communal embrace. To be able to comfort and hold and sustain each other. And I certainly feel, based on my experiences nearly seven years ago,

that the same thing would hold true for Minneapolis and beyond: that all of us in America deeply feel their pain, their loss, and that we embrace all of them in this massive hug; to say, "We are with you. We love you. We care about you. You are not alone in this. We are here with you."

And I would hope that --

COATES: I certainly hope that --

MYERS: -- that feeling --

COATES: -- message resonates.

MYERS: I would hope so. I know it did for me and my community, because I still deeply believe that most Americans are good, decent people. And they're shocked and horrified by what has happened.

COATES: Rabbi, to add an exponential insult to injury, here's what we do know about the suspected shooter in this. Had the name of the Tree of Life shooter written on a weapon and embraced a number of racist and antisemitic and bigoted views, wrote 6 million wasn't enough. I mean, can you imagine someone writing that?

How do you process the suspect's seeming fixation with the Tree of Life shooter?

MYERS: Sadly, he's not the first. Nor will he be the last.

It saddens me greatly that there are people who get sucked into that deep, dark hole and find no escape, other than shooting up a school.

[00:55:13]

We scratch our heads, because we can't answer the unanswerable. There are no explanations that can justify this in any way, shape, or form.

But I think at the end of the day, to recognize this does not represent the majority of America. It doesn't ease the pain, but at least gives us a pause to reflect. This is not what America is about.

COATES: Rabbi, thank you.

MYERS: Thank you, Laura.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

COATES: And thank you all for watching. Our coverage continues with "ANDERSON COOPER 360," next.

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