Kayla Epstein
US reporter

Image source, Reuters

Guns are at the heart of one of the US' longest and most intractable political debates. The conversation often sparks anew after high-profile mass shootings.

But since the 2024 election, the debate over guns has gone relatively quiet on the national scale. Trump's election - and the sweeping changes he has made to the federal government and immigration - placed the issue of guns on the policy back burner.

Democrats, who tend to be the loudest voices for gun safety legislation, were preoccupied with forging a path forward after an election defeat and finding a new party identity. Republicans, who generally support broader gun ownership rights, are in power federally.

We have not seen a rally by gun safety advocates of today's scale for some months now.

The horrific nature of the shooting - and the fact that most of the victims were children - has placed the issue back on national front pages.

Whether or not the Minneapolis shooting leads to policy changes at the state and national level remains to be seen.

Minnesota has a Democratic governor, but the lower chamber of its state legislature is basically tied between Republicans and Democrats, which could complicate passage of any new gun laws.

On the national level, we just heard Congresswoman Ilhan Omar say that it is "simple" to ban assault-style weapons in the US, but politically, that's just not true.

Republicans control the White House and both chambers of Congress, making it extremely unlikely that any ban on assault-style weapons or ammunition will pass nationally before the next midterm election.

We're closing our live coverage for now. You can read all about the school attack in our explainer piece, and watch our video interview with a man who helped rescue children from gunfire.

Thank you for joining us.

One day after the shooting, people are leaving flowers and stuffed animals at the scene as tributes to the victims.

Here are some photos from earlier today.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Sakshi Venkatraman
Live reporter

We've just heard from local and federal law enforcement, who have given updates on Wednesday's school attack in Minneapolis.

Here's what we've learned:

• According to the US acting attorney general for Minnesota, suspect Robin Westman's writing shows that she was obsessed with killing children and idolised mass murderers
• Westman went to both the Annunciation Catholic School and church, but authorities haven't found any specific grievances that may have led to the attack
• An additional injured child, announced today, was taken to a different hospital in a private vehicle. Police were only informed after the child was released
• At the scene, police found three shotgun shells, 116 rifle rounds and one handgun round that appears to have malfunctioned and become stuck in the chamber
• Police have not been able to reach the suspect's mother, Mary Grace Westman, who previously worked at the school and has not responded to law enforcement's attempts to contact her.
• Locking doors for Mass saved lives - police say the church had the doors locked so the attacker could not enter

As a reminder,Westman's name was legally changed from Robert to Robin in 2020, with the judge writing: "Minor child identifies as a female".

Image source, Reuters

Police haven't been successful in talking to the attacker's mother at this time, Chief Brian O'Hara says, but efforts are being made to get in contact.

The suspected attacker's mother, Mary Grace Westman, previously worked at Annunciation Catholic School, according to a school newsletter from 2016.

O'Hara adds that three residences are associated with this attacker, but investigators aren't yet sure where she was staying at the time of the shooting or who the attacker was living with.

And that's the end of the police update.

O'Hara says that church policy is to lock the door after Mass begins - something he says has saved additional lives in the shooting incident.

He adds that they learned the attacker intended to, and did, barricade the doors on the side of the church.

"What's particularly heinous and cowardly about this is these children were slaughtered by a gunman who could not see them," he says.

Image source, Getty Images

Police were asked about the extra child who was added to the number of injured today.

O'Hara says the child was taken to a hospital outside the city in a private vehicle, and didn't tell police about their injuries until after they were treated and released.

He says the children's injuries range from bullet graze wounds to serious, life-threatening injuries.

Image source, City of Minneapolis

Police Chief O'Hara says the attacker had previously attended mass at the Catholic church and also went to the Annunciation Catholic School.

"So obviously there is a connection between the attacker and this particular parish," O'Hara says.

The police chief adds that authorities have not yet identified any grievance or incident that may have prompted the attacker to target this church.

An FBI agent at the news conference says Westman did not appear on any watchlist before the attack.

Police Chief O'Hara adds that he's not aware of any mental health diagnoses or treatment the attacker was receiving.

Thompson also talks about Westman's writing, which he says gives insight into the plans, mental state and hatred of different groups.

He says that while the attacker "appeared to hate all of us", there is one group she idolised: other school attackers and mass murderers.

"Reading them, one thing is clear, and it's going to be hard to hear but it's important to the question of why this happened: more than anything, the shooter wanted to kill children," he says. "The shooter was obsessed with the idea of killing children."

A reporter asks about FBI Director Kash Patel's statement that the attacker had written about President Trump.

"Certainly, there's evidence of hate," US Acting Attorney General for Minnesota Joseph Thompson says.

"The shooter expressed hate towards many groups, including the Jewish community and towards President Trump."

He says when there are attacks at houses of worship, local and federal law enforcement work together to investigate.

Image source, Reuters

Minnesota's acting US attorney for the district of Minnesota Joseph Thompson has vowed to follow the evidence to its logical conclusion, and authorities say they'll do their best to establish a motive.

But he says there might not be a definitive or satisfactory answer.

"I won't dignify the attacker's words by repeating them, they are horrific and vile. But in short, the attacker wanted to watch children suffer," he says.

More details from the police now.

O'Hara says three shotgun shells were recovered at the scene, along with 116 rifle rounds and one handgun round that appears to have malfunctioned as the attacker tried to use it and it became stuck in the chamber.

His department executed four search warrants on Thursday - one at the church and three at residences in Minneapolis, Richfield and St Louis Park.

Investigators found more evidence there, including electronic devices that will be searched and processed further.

He says the investigation will continue and they "will follow all of the evidence to its logical conclusion."

Image source, Reuters

Police chief Brian O'Hara is now giving an update.

A new detail we're hearing is that a police officer ran into the church during the shooting, and a parishioner showed him where the shots were coming from.

"The parishioner later told me that it was the first time that he, the children and others there had any sense that they might be safe and survive," he says.

• You can check out this post for what the police have revealed on Wednedsday

After hearing from Minnesota politicians and gun control advocates, we're now expecting an update from police soon on the shooting in Minneapolis on Wednesday.

You can Watch live at the top of this page, and we'll bring you any important update, so stay with us.

Image source, Reuters

We’re still hearing speakers at the news conference at Minneapolis city hall calling for bans on assault weapons.

Those presenting - including state lawmakers, a paediatrician and gun control advocacy groups - describe gun violence as "a public health crisis" and insist that "we cannot become numb to this".

They’re demanding action at both the federal and state level to prevent further gun violence.

Image source, Reuters

Leah Kondes, who leads the Minneapolis chapter for the pro gun control group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, is also calling for a ban on assault weapons.

The mother of three says one of her daughters has already lived through two mass shootings.

"Another school year begins and once again it is marked by gun violence," she says. "This is not an isolated incident."

Kondes adds that less than 24 hours before the Annunciation School shooting, there was another shooting in Minneapolis where an AR-15-style assault weapon was used.

"These are weapons of war and they are tearing through our communities over and over again."

She says the guns used in many shootings are "guns designed for battlefields".

"No civilian needs a gun that can fire dozens of rounds in seconds," she says. "Sending kids to school should not mean sending them into a war zone. Enough is enough."

Image source, Reuters

US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, who represents Minnesota, says it's not hard to ban assault weapons. She says what's really hard is being a mother who has just dropped her children off at school, then getting a phone call to say they've been killed.

"That someone evil enough was afforded the ability to get a weapon that could be used to assassinate them through a window at their school while they sat for morning mass," she says. "I do not know what society finds themselves in the place we continually find ourselves."

Omar says she knows a thing or two about weapons of war, having been a refugee from Somalia. But she says she never imagined coming to the US and having to do drills for the same weapons.

"There is something fundamentally broken," she says. "I don't know why uniquely in America we have the capacity to not change what we know we can," Omar adds.

She says a straightforward ban to stop people getting these weapons is a simple request.

Mayor Jacob Frey says there needs to be a statewide and federal ban on assault weapons.

That gets a big round of applause in Minneapolis - a city where most politicians are Democrats.

"We need a statewide and a federal ban on high capacity magazines," the mayor adds.

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

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

He says part of the problem is the free flow of assault weapons from city to city - and that it will take political unity between cities to tackle the issue.

We're now hearing from Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.

"Minneapolis is mourning," he says. "We are committed to not having this be the scenario where another politician comes up to say never again."

Thoughts and prayers "are not gonna cut it", he says, and there needs to be action at the federal, state and city levels to make sure students can go to school and be safe.

Image source, Reuters

We're now listening in to a news conference in Minnesota, where Mayor Jacob Frey and lawmakers are expected to address the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.

US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, Minnesota State Senator Zaynab Mohamed and Minnesota State Representative Emma Greenman are among the speakers.

We'll bring you updates here - and as always, you can click Watch live to follow along.