Chilling similarities between Minneapolis shooting and gunman's 'favourite' attack

The gunman who killed two children and injured 17 other people yesterday had chilling similarities with a monster who infamously murdered 26 people at a school.

Robin Westman named Adam Lanza in a journal entry earlier this year, describing Lanza's sickening massacre as "favourite exposure of school shootings". Lanza killed 26 people - including 20 children - at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut on December 14, 2012, the deadliest mass shooting at an elementary school in US history.

Westman himself killed two kids and has left others injured in his mass gunning at the Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis on Wednesday. The 23-year-old then took the gun to himself, police said.

Hours before the shooting Westman shared a series of homemade videos which appeared to include a deeply twisted manifesto. Police said the manifesto posted on a now-deleted YouTube account was timed to be released just before the attack.

READ MORE: Minneapolis shooting: Deranged shooter killed children 'where they sat' in pews

READ MORE: Minneapolis school shooter who killed children, 8 and 10, as they prayed pictured

The manifesto included a photo of Lanza, 20, and those of other mass shooters. Lanza's name was written on a gun clip, or magazine, laid on what appears to be a bed, scattered with guns and ammunition, it is understood.

Writing in a journey entry on May 23, Westman said: "I have a deep fascination with one man in particular: Adam Lanza. Sandy Hook was my favourite, I think, exposure of school shootings." The journal entry was shared in the YouTube video, it is said.

Westman had a strained relationship with his mother, who had previously been an administrative assistant at the school whose church service he devastated on Wednesday. Police have said they are investigating an "act of domestic terrorism".

And although Lanza lived in the same house as his mum Nancy, their relationship had deteriorated so much they only communicated by email in late 2012. On December 14 that year, Lanza made his mother his first victim, shooting the 52-year-old woman with .22-caliber Savage Mark II rifle at their home in Newtown, Connecticut.

Both Lanza and Westman had no previous involvement with the police. However, both attacks were carefully planned and targeted strike against their former schools.

Lanza managed to murder 26 people, including 20 children, before he killed himself with a gunshot to the head. Westman also ended his life after targeting his old school. In the journal, Westman wrote: "I am feeling good about Annunciation. It seems like a good combo of easy attack form and devastating tragedy, and I want to do more research... I have concerns about finding a large enough group. I want to avoid any parents, but pre and post school drop off.

"Maybe I could attack an event at the on-site church. I think attacking a large group of kids coming in from recess is my best plan. Then from there I can go inside and kill, going for as long as I can."

The shooter's mother retired from her role at the school in 2021. It is believed the 67-year-old woman now lives in Naples, Florida, which is more than 1,700 miles southeast from Minneapolis.