An attacker opened fire on Wednesday morning during Mass at a Minneapolis Catholic school, killing two children and injuring 17 other people before killing himself.
Police said 14 of the injured were children, ages six to 15, and that they were all expected to survive. The three adults who were injured were parishioners in their 80s, officials said.
The shooting happened at Annunciation Catholic School in the first week of term.
“It’s my strongest desire that no state, no community, no school ever experiences a day like this,” Minnesota Governor Tim Walz said.
The White House said in a social media post that US President Donald Trump ordered flags at half-mast for all government buildings until sunset on Sunday “as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence”.
FBI director Kash Patel said the shooting was believed to be an “act of domestic terrorism” and an anti-Catholic hate crime.
People packed into a gym at Holy Angels Academy in suburban Richfield for a vigil on Wednesday night, AP reported.
It began hours after the attacker opened fire with a rifle through the windows of a church at the school, several kilometres away.
Videos linked to attacker
Police say they were aware of video material apparently timed to be released by the attacker and of possible pieces of writing shared by the person.
A YouTube channel titled Robin W had at least two videos that were recorded before being taken down by the site.
In one that lasts about 10 minutes, the alleged shooter shows weapons and ammunition. Many have sayings written on them, including the phrases “kill Donald Trump” and “Where is your God?” Some are in Cyrillic.
The alleged attacker holds up a letter to relatives, sings the word “tomorrow” and says: “I’m sorry to my family … that’s the only people I’m sorry to.”
A second video of almost 20 minutes shows two journals with stickers, some depicting weapons. The alleged attacker flips to what looks to be a drawing of the layout of the church, points to two outside windows and then stabs the illustration with a long knife.
