Robin Westman, 23, opened fire during mass at Minneapolis’ Annunciation Catholic Church on Aug. 27, killing two children and injuring 18 others
Shot twice during the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis on Wednesday, Aug. 27, 13-year-old Endre Gunter asked his surgeon a simple question before his emergency surgery: “Can you say a prayer with me?”
Endre’s ordeal is described in a GoFundMe page organized by his family, which has raised just over $19,000 toward his medical expenses as of Thursday afternoon. The fundraiser says Endre “showed strength and faith beyond his years,” survived his operation and is now recovering in the hospital.
It adds that the surgeon later told relatives Endre “fought through a terrifying event with courage that inspired the entire medical team.”
City officials said today that an additional injured victim was identified, bringing the total to 18 injured, in addition fatalities of two children aged 8 and 10.
Endre was among dozens of students gathered for a back-to-school Mass when the gunfire erupted on Wednesday. He was shot in the stomach around 8:30 a.m. as shots came through the church’s windows. A Minneapolis police officer rendered aid and prayed with him before he was taken into surgery, per previous reporting by PEOPLE.
Investigators say the shooter, identified as Robin Westman, 23, fired through the church’s windows, barricaded at least two exits with two-by-fours from the outside, and fired dozens of rounds using three lawfully purchased firearms — a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol.
Westman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and federal authorities say they are reviewing the case as potential domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics, per previous reporting by PEOPLE.
“In regards to my motivation behind the attack I can’t really put my finger on a specific purpose. It definitely wouldn’t be for racism or white supremacy,” Westman wrote in a notebook shown on their now-removed YouTube channel, according to CNN. “I don’t want to do it to spread a message. I do it to please myself. I do it because I am sick.”
The video shows a shooting target with an image of Jesus and a collection of shooting magazines, ammunition and guns scrawled with messages including the antisemitic message “6 million wasn’t enough” — which referenced the Holocaust — and “psycho killer.” A magazine was inscribed with the words “kill Donald Trump.”
Westman previously attended Annunciation, and the shooter’s mother had worked at the Church of Annunciation for five years before retiring in 2016, per the Associated Press.
On GoFundMe, Endre’s relatives write that he is recovering “surrounded by his loved ones and the best medical team possible,” but faces “a long road ahead.”
Donations will go toward medical bills, rehabilitation, trauma counseling and support for his immediate family. The family also extends “deepest prayers and love to the other victims and families impacted by this horrific tragedy.”
Among the wounded is Sophia Forchas, 12, who underwent emergency surgery and is recovering in the ICU, per previous reporting by PEOPLE.
People also reported that 10-year-old Weston Halsne said his friend Victor shielded him and was shot, and that 15 of the injured are children along with three parishioners in their 80s.