What we know about the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis

Situation report: The 15 children and three senior parishioners injured in the attack are expected to survive, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said Wednesday afternoon.

The big picture: News of the attack, which happened just three days into the fall semester, reverberated across the city, state and nation, as leaders ranging from President Trump to Pope Leo XIV offered condolences to the grieving community.

• Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz ordered all U.S. and Minnesota flags to fly at half-staff at all state buildings in honor of the victims of one of the worst acts of gun violence targeting a Minnesota school in decades.

What they're saying: "This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshiping," O'Hara said. "The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible."

• "Don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now," said Mayor Jacob Frey. "These kids were literally praying."

What we know: O'Hara said the assailant, dressed in black, approached from the side of Annunciation Catholic Church during a service marking the first week of school and began firing into the windows just before 8:30 am.

• The slain children, ages 8 and 10, were sitting in the pews when they were shot.

The shooter, identified by authorities as 23-year-old Robin Westman, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the rear of the church.

• Westman, who has no known criminal history, was armed with a rifle, a pistol and a shotgun. All three guns were lawfully purchased recently, O'Hara said.

O'Hara said authorities are investigating and searching for a potential motive. However, he acknowledged that the now-removed video, which is believed to have been posted online by the shooter, was under review by detectives.

• Those video posts, which have been taken down, show guns, antisemitic, racist and violent language, and hostile references to Christianity and President Trump, per multiple outlets.

According to Dakota County Court records, the shooter's mother applied to have her child's name changed to Robin M. Westman because her child "identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification."

• That detail stirred hateful online posts toward transgender people, which the mayor condemned.

• "Anybody who is using this as an opportunity to villainize our trans community, or any other community out there, has lost their sense of common humanity, Frey said.

While authorities said yesterday they were still looking into whether the shooter had a connection to the school, Westman appears in a 2017 Annunciation yearbook and their mother once worked at the church, per the Star Tribune.

The response: The shooting drew a heavy law enforcement presence to the neighborhood.

• The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, State Patrol and the FBI all joined local law enforcement agencies on the scene, state and federal officials said.

FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency is investigating the attack as "an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics."

• Gov. Tim Walz told reporters President Trump and senior administration officials called to "express their deep condolences" and offer support.

Zoom out: The attack came at the end of a deadly 24 hours in Minneapolis, as police responded to three separate fatal shootings that occurred between Tuesday evening and early Wednesday morning.

• O'Hara said the attack on the church "does not appear to be related to any other shooting in the city."

What we're watching: Whether yesterday's attack stirs new questions about how K-12 campuses ensure safety, especially with many Minnesota public school students preparing to return after the holiday weekend.

Editor's note: This story has been updated with more details from police, including the number of victims, and Gov. Tim Walz's directive.