On August 27, 2025, Robin Westman, aka Robert Westman, opened fire with a rifle at a Catholic church in Minneapolis, striking children who were celebrating Mass during the first week of school. The gunman killed two children and wounded 17 additional victims who attended Annunciation Catholic School, before committing suicide.

Unfortunately, like most targeted violent attacks, Westman sent signals via social media with a manifesto that identified his intentions. Once again, red flags were missed and children died.

It is now time to begin a comprehensive security initiative to standardize security measures at public and private schools. This means to converge physical security with technology and a methodology of identifying threats and establishing a threat management program that goes further than SB-553.

First a security risk assessment identifying vulnerabilities needs to be conducted at every school. Using the methodology of the Secret Service, the assessment should begin at the outer perimeter where curtilage begins. Secondly, the middle perimeter which consist of playgrounds and open areas should be examined. Thirdly, the inner perimeter of a school should have the ability to automatically lock down entrances and doors to the classroom. Additional steps are as follows:

• Install the latest analytic camera technology on the outer perimeter, middle perimeter, and in hallways inside the school.

• Have an armed vetted security officer monitor the cameras with another armed vetted officer patrolling the premises.

• Have an alert system such as Titan installed for instant communications with teachers in classrooms.
Install bullet proof windows especially that are classrooms to stop an assault from the outer or middle perimeter.

• Train staff and teachers to identify at risk children who exhibit aberrant and dysfunctional behaviors and develop a threat assessment and threat management program to deal with students who exhibit ideations of suicide or killing others.

• Incorporate local police by providing interior schematics of the building and having training sessions on response to a 911 call.

• Schools should work with parents to instill information that will aid in identifying at risk young men and women. Parents should be held accountable if they ignore warning signs and their child commits targeted violence.

These measures are expensive to install, but the time to initiate a comprehensive standard of care is now. Our children are our greatest asset, and we can no longer ignore the fact that our society has become more violent and prone to mass shootings than ever before.

While a call for additional gun control always comes after a mass shooting, perpetrators of targeted violence will find other ways such as a vehicle attack, or knife attacks to fulfill their vile and evil fantasies.

The issue of targeted violence is a much deeper issue that needs to be addressed in studies to determine what makes a person or persons to engage in mass killings.

The time for standardization of securing our school is now.

Talon conducts Vulnerability Risk Assessments and Training in Targeted Violence.