LOS ANGELES -- The suspect who shot dead two children and injured 17 others on Wednesday at a Catholic school in the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota, has been identified, authorities said.

The shooter has been identified as Robin Westman, noted Kash Patel, Director of the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), adding that the agency is investigating the shooting as "an act of domestic terrorism and hate crimes targeting Catholics."

In his post on the social platform X, he confirmed: "There were 2 fatalities, an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old. In addition, 14 children and 3 adults were injured."

Local and federal officials said the 23-year-old shooter resided in the Minneapolis area.

Before 8:30 am local time (1330 GMT), the shooter, armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, approached the school church and fired through the windows at the children who were sitting in the pews during Mass, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said at a news conference.

The shooter then killed himself in the rear of the church, O'Hara said. The suspect was in his 20s and did not have an extensive criminal history, he added.

"We are also aware of a manifesto that the shooter had timed to be released on YouTube," O'Hara told reporters. The manifesto appeared to show the shooter at the scene and included some disturbing writings, according to the police chief.

O'Hara said the content had been taken down with the assistance of the FBI and it now remains under active review by investigators.

Westman attended Annunciation Catholic School for at least a year, local news outlet the Minnesota Star Tribune reported.

It appears Westman's mother has a connection to Annunciation. The church said in a 2021 Facebook post announcing her departure that she provided "wonderful hospitality," according to the report of the news outlet.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz expressed support for the school community in a statement on X: "I'm praying for our kids and teachers whose first week of school was marred by this horrific act of violence."

"All of our kids should be able to go to school or church or anywhere without the fear of gun violence," said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey in a post on X.

The tragedy in Minneapolis marked the fifth planned school shooting involving active shooters in the United States in 2025, according to a school shooting tracker by NBC News.

A total of 286 mass shootings have occurred in the United States so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a mass shooting as an incident in which four or more people, excluding the perpetrator, are shot or killed.