Mother of Minnesota Shooting Suspect Lawyers Up

As investigators search for answers in this week's deadly shooting in Minneapolis, the mother of the suspected shooter has hired a criminal defense attorney, reports NBC News. Police say they have not yet been able to make contact with Mary Grace Westman, the mother of 23-year-old Robin Westman. Authorities are not suggesting she might face charges, but NBC notes the precedent of the parents of other shooters being charged, as with the case of teenager Ethan Crumbley in Michigan.

"She is completely distraught about the situation and has no culpability but is seeking an attorney to deal with calls like this," her attorney, Ryan Garry, tells Fox News. Authorities have interviewed other relatives of the suspect, including Robin Westman's father, and describe them as cooperative. But "we have not been successful in talking to the shooter's mother yet at this time," said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara on Thursday.

Public records list Mary Grace Westman's residence as being in Florida, and the Naples Daily News says members of the media have staked out the condo she is believed to own there. Westman is retired now, but she previously worked for the parish of the church where the shooting took place. Two young children were killed, and 18 other children and adults were injured. Police say the shooter committed suicide after opening fire on the children.