What We Know About the Minneapolis Catholic School Shooting

An assailant on Wednesday fired through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis, killing an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old and injuring 18 other people, including 15 children, the police said.

The attacker then died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, the Minneapolis police chief, Brian O’Hara, said at a news conference.

The authorities have identified the attacker as Robin Westman, 23, who was believed to have once attended the school at the church, Annunciation Catholic Church, according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation.

Appearing on NBC’s “Today” show on Thursday morning, Chief O’Hara said officers had recovered “hundreds of pieces of evidence” including further writings from the suspect. He said investigators were continuing to search for a clear motive among the litany of grievances and violent obsessions that dot the suspect’s writings, online videos and social media postings.

When did the attack happen?

The shooting took place at about 8:30 a.m. at Annunciation Catholic Church in south Minneapolis, which has a school for children in prekindergarten through eighth grade. The students had been observing an all-school Mass, an annual tradition for the new academic year, which began Monday.