海角大神

Minnesota shooting highlights risks to religious schools, amid push for more security

Ahead of the new academic year, staff at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis chose a scriptural theme from the Book of Jeremiah:聽鈥淔or I know full well the plans I have for you, plans for your welfare and not for your misfortune, plans that will offer you a future filled with hope.鈥�

The final word in that verse 鈥� 鈥� is what educators wanted to emphasize during the school鈥檚 102nd year nurturing the hearts and minds of its young learners. But on Wednesday morning, a lone assailant shot through the windows of Annunciation Church, where students had gathered for Mass during their first week back at school. Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed. Fourteen other students and three parishioners were injured. The assailant died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound behind the church.

Principal Matthew DeBoer at a press conference Wednesday acknowledged the incongruity between the theme for the school year and the tragic attack. He called for prayers and action to halt further violence. 鈥淭here鈥檚 an African proverb that says, 鈥榃hen you pray, move your feet,鈥� he said. 鈥淪o I beg you. I ask you to please pray, but don鈥檛 stop with your words. Let鈥檚 make a difference.鈥�

It was an all-too-familiar scene as emotional parents embraced their children outside the school and church 鈥� now a crime scene 鈥� in the aftermath of the shooting. It鈥檚 the third such tragedy involving a 海角大神 school in as many years, heightening security concerns at education settings outside traditional public schools. Private schools, attended by about 10% of U.S. schoolchildren, have historically experienced fewer school shootings than public schools. With the rise in high-profile incidents, some expect more 海角大神 schools to take a harder look at their security protocols, as many Jewish and Muslim schools long have.

Last December, a shooting at Abundant Life 海角大神 School in Madison, Wisconsin, left a student and teacher dead as well as six others injured. And in March 2023, a former student fatally shot three 9-year-olds and three adults at The Covenant School, a private 海角大神 school in Nashville.

鈥淲e tend to pray our way out of any type of vigilance with that and thinking that it鈥檚 not going to happen here because of our faith,鈥� says Chuck Wilson, board chairman for the Partner Alliance for Safer Schools. 鈥淲e鈥檝e seen 鈥� just the opposite, where we鈥檙e likely just as vulnerable.鈥�

Examining security measures

Community members came in a steady stream Thursday to lay flowers for the victims at the corner of 54th Street and Lyndale Avenue in Minneapolis. One of those people was Diana Soller, whose circle of friends includes many Annunciation alumni and whose late mother often prayed at the same Wednesday morning Mass.

鈥淲e all experience angst and pain as children. Our environment is small. And troubled people often strike out at what they know,鈥� she says, referring to reports that indicate the shooter had graduated from the school.

Authorities identified the shooter as 23-year-old Robin Westman, who was born Robert Westman before legally changing their name in 2020. Court documents show the change occurred because the petitioner 鈥渋dentifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.鈥� A motive has not been established for the shooting, which was carried out with three legally purchased firearms. FBI director Kash Patel said it鈥檚 being investigated as

Safety experts suspect the tragedy will prompt private schools to reexamine their security measures. Mr. Wilson says PASS had already been fielding more inquiries from faith-based school leaders who were assessing their vulnerabilities. He saw that desire firsthand at a Lutheran school in Iowa, where he recently served as a board member. The school, he says, beefed up its security technology with the help of donations.

鈥淣ow we鈥檙e going to be inundated with people wondering, 鈥榃hat could we do? Or what should we do?鈥欌�� he says, noting the concern about copycat attacks.

Mr. Wilson鈥檚 advice isn鈥檛 radically different from what PASS would tell public schools. He points them to the organization鈥檚 safety and security guidelines, now in its seventh edition. The guidelines cover recommendations for digital and physical hardening, such as window films or glazings that reduce visual access and resist bullets.

Security has been top of mind at Jewish and Muslim schools for years, especially amid a rise in antisemitism and Islamophobia in the United States. But there have been growing efforts within 海角大神 school communities to do the same.

The need for any religious community to devote extensive time and resources to safety disappoints Rabbi Jonah Dov Pesner, director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism.

鈥淭he 海角大神 community shouldn鈥檛 have to learn from the Jewish community how to protect our communities through hardening our boundaries,鈥� he says. 鈥淲e should, as a society, collectively, number one 鈥� get the guns out of the streets, off people鈥檚 hands, out of people鈥檚 homes.鈥�

Seeking additional funding

More than two years ago, the Minnesota Catholic Conference to Gov. Tim Walz requesting that nonpublic schools be included in 鈥� and allowed to access funding from 鈥� the Safe Schools Program. But the that related bills fizzled in the state legislature, meaning nonpublic schools remained frozen out of additional funding.

The debate over what could have been done at the national, state, or local level to prevent the Annunciation shooting will likely continue for the foreseeable future. Safety experts say a school-level review of security policies is always welcome and needed, especially at the beginning of a new academic year. But they also stress that school shootings, though more common in recent decades and traumatizing for those affected, remain statistically rare.

The Minneapolis tragedy on Wednesday marked the 434th school shooting since the Columbine High School massacre in 1999, according to a database compiled by The Washington Post. The list includes a variety of situations, including drive-by shootings and arguments that erupted in gunfire in school parking lots.

The takeaway for all schools, public or private, should be the need for a balancing act, says Amy Klinger, director of programs for The Educator鈥檚 School Safety Network.

鈥淲e have to be aware and prepared for the potential for gun violence, but also we have to be equally concerned about the things that happen on a daily basis that are also horrific and unacceptable,鈥� she says.

Dr. Klinger cited severe weather and medical emergencies as examples of relatively common situations that require safety planning and training.

Looking beyond exterior security

Physical hardening of school grounds or buildings only goes so far, says Justin Heinze, co-director of the National Center for School Safety at the University of Michigan. He urges education leaders to take a deeper look at school climate and ways to identify threats before they escalate into violence.

In the 鈥渧ast, vast majority鈥� of cases, school shooters exhibit warning signs before committing the attacks, Dr. Heinze says. Minneapolis Police acknowledged a allegedly posted online by the Annunciation shooter, that has been taken down by law enforcement as the investigation continues.

鈥淗ow can we educate students and staff and all those in the school community to look out for those signs and report them, so that there is an intervention before it ever comes to a point where a firearm or other weapon is brought to campus?鈥� Dr. Heinze says.

Part of that may lie in more support and awareness outside of school campuses. Many schools use 鈥� and heavily advertise 鈥� anonymous reporting systems that encourage a 鈥渟ee something, say something鈥� mindset.

鈥淲e don鈥檛 typically have that for the broader community,鈥� Dr. Heinze says.

Back in Minneapolis, a community beset by grief has started its healing journey. During a prayer service Wednesday evening, the spiritual leader of the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis pointed to the bravery and love exhibited by the school鈥檚 children as a guiding light moving forward.

鈥淲hen there鈥檚 that kind of love, my brothers and sisters, we too can build that house of God,鈥� Archbishop Bernard Hebda said.

Staff writers Patrik Jonsson reported from Minneapolis, Jackie Valley from Las Vegas, and Sophie Hills from Washington.