One of the young students killed in a mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic church was identified Thursday as his father tore into the “coward” gunman who took his son’s life.
Fletcher Merkel, 8, and another 10-year-old student “were killed where they sat” in pews during a back-to-school Mass when 23-year-old Robin Westman opened fire through the stained glass windows of Annunciation Church and Catholic School on Wednesday.
Jessie Merkel, Fletcher’s father, struggled to fathom how the actions of such a “coward” could’ve taken his son away.
“Fletcher loved his family, friends, fishing, cooking, and any sports that he was allowed to play. While the hole in our hearts and lives will never be filled, I hope that in time, our family can find healing,” the heartbroken father said at a press conference.
“I’ve heard many stories accounting the swift and heroic actions of children and adults alike from inside the church. Without these people and their selfless actions, this could have been a tragedy of many magnitudes more. For these people, I am thankful.”
Eighteen others, mainly children between 6 and 15 years old, were injured in the rampage carried out by the transgender shooter.
As of Thursday afternoon, nine were still hospitalized, including a child in critical condition, officials with Hennepin County Medical Center said.
Many students who survived the harrowing attack recalled ducking underneath the pews for cover, dashing to hide in the church’s basement, or even concealing themselves beneath other classmates until the gunfire stopped.
Here’s what we know about the Catholic school shooting in Minneapolis
- Students had begun their first week of school at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, two days before the shooting.
- Robin Westman, a 23-year-old trans woman, opened fire through the stained glass windows on Wednesday morning during a celebratory back-to-school Mass filled with children.
- The shooting killed two children and injured at least 17 others, before Westman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
- Westman had written “kill Donald Trump” and “for the children” on gun magazines, and posted videos of a handwritten manifesto.
- Westman’s mother had worked at the school.
Others said that they didn’t recall hearing any screaming, just eerie silence as Westman unloaded a staggering 116 rifle rounds before turning the gun on himself.
Wounded survivors of the shooting include 12-year-old Sophia Forchas, whose mother was on shift at the very hospital the victims were sent to for treatment, and 13-year-old Endre Gunter, who asked a doctor to “pray with [him]” before surgery.
Authorities are still working to determine a motive for the massacre.
Westman published several videos on his YouTube page ahead of the attack, sharing excerpts from a manifesto detailing his “hate towards almost every group imaginable,” Minneapolis Chief of Police Brian O’Hara said.
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The journal was filled cover to cover with repugnant phrases outlining his desire to kill anyone from “penny-sniffing k-kes” and people of color to high-ranking officials and “children of innocent civilians,” according to sections translated by The Post.
It also included early drafts for the shooting. According to his journal, though, the would-be shooter wasn’t exactly sure how he wanted to go about the slaughter.
“I am feeling good about Annunciation. It seems like a good combo of easy attack form and devastating tragedy and I want to do more research. I have concerns about finding a large enough group. I want to avoid any parents, but pre and post school drop off,” one page read.
“Maybe I could attack an event at the on-site church. I think attacking a large group of kids coming in from recess is my best plan … Then from there I can go inside and kill, going for as long as I can,” he scribbled on another.
Westman’s mother, Mary Grace Westman, worked at Annunciation Church and Catholic School until she retired in 2021. O’Hara said that authorities haven’t “been successful in talking to the shooter’s mother.”
