On the morning of August 27, 2025, children at Annunciation Catholic School in south Minneapolis gathered inside the church for a back-to-school Mass. The ceremony was meant to mark a new beginning for the year, but instead, it turned into a tragedy that shook the entire community.
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Publish Your Press Release Fast online submission • No media contacts needed Read the full storyAmong the children inside was 10-year-old Weston Halsne, a fifth grader who took his seat just feet away from the stained glass windows. Without warning, gunfire erupted. A shooter outside the church aimed through the windows and opened fire on the children and worshippers sitting in the pews.
“It was like, shots fired and then we kind of like got under pews. They shot through the stained glass windows I think, and it was really scary.”
Weston later recalled.
In that terrifying moment, Weston felt what he thought was gunpowder touch his neck. But what he remembers most is how his friend Victor acted.
“My friend Victor like, saved me though. Because he laid on top of me. But he got hit,” Weston said.
He admitted he was terrified for his friend, but added with relief, “I think now he’s OK.”
Weston wanted to send a message to Victor after the ordeal: “I hope you’re OK and I’m praying for you.”
The chaos inside lasted only minutes but felt much longer to those who lived it. Weston said they waited about five to ten minutes before being told to head to the gym, where the doors were locked to keep them safe. “And we waited in the gym for more news,” he explained.
Although Weston had practiced active shooter drills at school, nothing had prepared him for experiencing an attack inside the church. When he finally got outside, he saw his mother waiting.
“I was super happy, because like, I was scared that I wasn’t going to see her. Because I didn’t know what was happening really, I was just in shock,”
he said.
The mass shooting left two children dead and 17 others injured, 14 of them kids. Police identified the shooter as 23-year-old Robin Westman from suburban Minneapolis. He died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the back of the church.
The attack triggered a massive response from law enforcement across the city. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara explained that the shooter had approached from outside and fired a rifle through the windows directly into the pews.
For Weston’s family, the relief of having him safe is matched with anger and disbelief.
“Inexplainable and it happens way too much. And when it happens to your own children, then you’re going to think very differently about this. There’s only one way to think about it. There’s nothing this precious little boy ever did to deserve this.”
His grandfather, Michael Simpson, spoke about the pain of seeing his grandson face such danger.
Community leaders and officials at every level have spoken out in response. The Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis released a statement asking people to “pray for all those affected by the shooting today at Annunciation in Minneapolis.”
What began as a day of worship and new beginnings became one of fear, loss, and survival. For Weston, the memory of his friend’s courage will always stand out: a child laying his own body over another to shield him. And for the community, the tragedy serves as another reminder of the innocence lost and the resilience that must follow.
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