According to authorities, the suspect in the shooting at a Catholic school during a Mass in Minneapolis on August 27 was identified as transgender Robin Westman, 23.
Authorities said the suspect died from a self-inflicted bullet wound after using a rifle to shoot through windows on the side of the church of Annunciation Catholic School/ACS, targeting children sitting on a stretcher.
The gunfighting killed two children - 8 and 10 years old - along with 17 others, including 14 children aged 6 to 15 and 3 adults aged 80 who are parishioners in the church.
At the scene, the authorities seized a rifle, a sung ngan and a rifle used by the suspect, all of which had been illegally purchased recently.
Authorities believe Westman acted alone. A search warrant is being carried out at the church and three nearby residential areas related to the suspect.
Despite no criminal record, the police discovered that Westman had previously posted many videos related to the intention to commit suicide on his personal YouTube channel.
According to the investigation results from an expert source, Westman wrote many things on the weapons and bullet boxes in the video, including nationally insulting words, anti-Jewish messages, anti-governmental statements and many other sensitive statements. The YouTube channel also includes a video of the suspect fliping each page of a diary.
In excerpts from the diary, written with Russian Kirin characters for English words, the suspect described his passion for violence and his obsession with mass shootings, especially those that attacked schools. The suspect even discussed his suicide, depression, nationalism and the specific details of a mass shooting.
Law enforcement officials have also been informed that the suspect left videos posted online with written content mentioning negative content, along with an apology to the family and a handwritten sketch of the interior of a church. It is not yet clear whether that church is a church in the ACS or not.
However, Chief O'Hara said that authorities have not been able to confirm any connection between the suspect, the suspect's family and the church, but noted that the investigation is still ongoing, especially after they found a " statement" from Westman before committing the crime.
This statement was scheduled to be posted on YouTube right before the attack but has now been removed. The police revealed that the content of the statement included the names of other gunmen written on a rifle strip, placed on a bed, surrounded by guns and bullets.
