Police: Casualty total from Annunciation mass shooting rises after new victims accounted for

Paul Walsh, Star Tribune on Oct 7, 2025

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Minneapolis police said Tuesday that several more children were wounded than initially reported during the fatal mass shooting in late August at Annunciation Catholic Church.

Police Sgt. Garrett Parten, the department’s chief spokesman, said the number of victims rose from 23 to 30 because “as the investigation continued, investigators learned of victims who were brought to hospitals on their own, and many of the additional victims had wounds from shrapnel that were not discovered until later.”

The revised total includes Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, who were killed during the gunfire on Aug. 27.

The shooter, 23-year-old Robin Westman, died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and is not included in the revised total.

There are now 26 children who were injured either directly by gunfire or by shrapnel created by the gunfire, Parten said. Three adults were also wounded by gunfire and survived.

In addition, Parten said, “there was a juvenile that was injured from taking cover and fleeing during the incident, (and) not injured from gunfire.”

The updated casualty figure was first disclosed Monday in a search warrant affidavit filed by police in Hennepin County District Court.

Police filed the affidavit on Friday and were given court permission to search the van Westman drove to the scene. That same day, police retrieved from a shelf in the vehicle a loaded revolver, a dash camera and a memory card typically used in digital cameras and other portable devices.

The filing cited a YouTube video believed to be posted the night before by Westman showing a rifle, a shotgun, a semiautomatic handgun and a revolver.

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