Two children killed in Minneapolis Catholic church shooting identified by family members

The victims have been identified as eight-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski.

Published: August 28, 2025 8:26pm

The two children who were murdered by a transgender shooter during a mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis on Wednesday have been identified by their family members.

The victims have been identified as eight-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski. 

“Yesterday, a coward decided to take our eight-year-old son Fletcher away from us,” Fletcher's father, Jesse Merkel, said in a statement, according to CNN. “We will never be allowed to hold him, talk to him, play with him and watch him grow into the wonderful young man he was on the path to becoming.”

Harper's parents, Michael Moyski and Jackie Flavin, put out a statement about their daughter, describing her as "bright" and "joyful."

“Our hearts are broken not only as parents, but also for Harper’s sister, who adored her big sister and is grieving an unimaginable loss,” the parents said in a statement. “As a family, we are shattered, and words cannot capture the depth of our pain.”

On Wednesday, the shooter, Robin Westman, opened fire through the windows of the Catholic church where mass was taking place, killing two children and injuring 18 others, including 15 children.

Authorities added that Westman had a "deranged fascination" with previous mass shooters and Thompson said he had left behind "hundreds of pages of writing" that expressed hate toward “almost every group imaginable.”

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