The Deadly Impact of Psychopaths Among Us

"This level of violence is unthinkable. Our deepest prayers are with the children, parents, families, educators, and Christians everywhere. We mourn with them, we pray for healing, and we will never forget them."

"[The suspect] clearly had a deranged obsession with previous mass shooters."

"Ultimately this person committed this act with the intention of causing as much terror, as much trauma, as much carnage as possible for their own personal notoriety."

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara

 

"Yesterday, a coward decided to take our eight-year-old son, Fletcher, away from us. Because of their actions, we will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming." 

"While the hole in our hearts and lives will never be filled, I hope that in time, our family can find healing. I pray that the other victim’s family can find some semblance of the same."

"[I am] hopeful [that] all the wounded are able to make a full recovery and return to their families. [And that all the people], especially the children, [are] able to recover mentally."

"Over the past day, 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’m thankful."

"Please remember Fletcher for the person he was and not the act that ended his life. Give your kids an extra hug and kiss today. We love you. Fletcher, you’ll always be with us."

Jesse Merkel, father of Fletcher Merkel   

An 8-year-old boy and 10-year-old girl were shot and killed when the gunman fired through the windows of a church at the Annunciation Catholic School on Wednesday morning, police said. ABC News

"We are devastated to share that our beloved daughter, Harper Moyski, was tragically killed in the recent school shooting. Harper was a bright, joyful and deeply loved 10-year-old whose laughter, kindness and spirit touched everyone who knew her."

"Our hearts are broken not only as parents, but also for Harper’s sister, who adored her big sister and is grieving an unimaginable loss."

"As a family, we are shattered, and words cannot capture the depth of our pain."

"No family should ever have to endure this kind of pain. We urge our leaders and communities to take meaningful steps to address gun violence and the mental health crisis in this country."

"Change is possible, and it is necessary — so that Harper’s story does not become yet another in a long line of tragedies." 

Michael Moyski and Jackie Flavin   

"[The city is] united in grief” [and] united in action."

"People who say that this is not about guns, you got to be kidding me. This is about guns. We do need to take action."

"There are other countries around the world where horrific acts have taken place like this and then they step up to make a change so that it, in fact, does not happen again."

"There is no reason that someone should be able to reel off 30 shots before they even have to reload."

"We’re not talking about your father’s hunting rifle here. We’re talking about guns that are built to pierce armor and kill people."

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey  

Fletcher Merkel and Harper Moyski. Photograph: GoFundMe

 

He was 23, a young man troubled among other issues, by gender dysphoria. When he was in his teens, his mother petitioned with success to change her son's name from Robert, to Robin, in 2021, to more accurately she said, reflect his self-identity as female. 'Assigning' him male at birth was evidently an error to be corrected. 'Robin' Westman's mother was an administrative assistant in the business office of the Annunciation Catholic School.

 

It was at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis on Wednesday that the man who for reasons known only to himself, decided to shoot through the stained-glass windows of the church that housed the school at 8:30 a.m., with students assembling for mass during what was the start of yet another school year. He opened fire with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, all legally procured. 

 

In the process, he shot two students dead, ages 8 and ten, wounding 17 others, among them another 14 students. According to Minneapolis Police chief Brian O'Hara, the assailant acted on his own, had no extensive criminal history and the guns he used in the assault that took two innocent lives and forever changed the lives of an additional 17 people, were bought in accordance with State law.

 

Coincidentally, the shooter had posted videos to YouTube which demonstrated his admiration for other mass shooters, his fascination with gun magazines -- on some of which he scrawled messages such as "Kill Donald Trump", along with racial slurs. Among those messages were some meant for his family, apologizing to them for the impact his actions would have on their lives.

 

"I don't expect forgiveness", he wrote in a journal that appeared in one of his downloaded videos. "I'm sorry to my family, but that's all I'm sorry for", he narrated, over images of guns and ammunition. Slogans were also present that revealed his anti-Black, antisemitic, anti-Hispanic and anti-God sentiments. Throughout the videos, acknowledgements were present in his fascination with past mass killings.

 

He had written the names of previous mass shooters among text scrawled in white marker across the magazines and on the firearms in his possession. He took his love of firearms and his hatred for others with him that day, as he committed  himself to the nether world. Dressed in black to suit the occasion, he made his farewell to life as he propped a wood plank barricading the church doors, behind which he turned his weapons on himself and expired.

 

In one of the videos he posted he was shown laughing, as he highlighted a note addressed to his family, apologizing to his siblings and parents, for "forever tainting the rest of [your] lives". He made references to depressive and suicidal thoughts, and clearly he was destined to leave a life of disappointment and personal suffering. Why in this state of mind he would decide to  end the lives of children before himself dying, is a conundrum the parents of the children will live with the rest of their lives. 

"[In writings left behind], the shooter expressed hate towards many groups, including the Jewish community and towards President Trump."

"I won’t dignify the attacker’s words by repeating them, they are horrific and vile."

Joseph Thompson, acting US attorney general for Minnesota 

Police and first responders work at the scene of a shooting near Annunciation Church and Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on August 27, 2025. Eva Claire Hambach/AFP via Getty Images