Authorities are working to study the motive of the shooter who fired right into a Minneapolis Catholic college’s church throughout Wednesday’s (August 27, 2025) Mass, (*2*)killing two youngsters and injuring 17 worshippers.
Officials recognized the shooter as Robin Westman, 23, and stated Westman was discovered useless in the car parking zone from what they imagine was a self-inflicted gunshot. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara stated authorities have been looking out a automobile in the car parking zone believed to be the shooter’s and three related residences in the space. They additionally have been scouring content material that Westman allegedly scheduled to be launched on YouTube and has since been faraway from the platform.
The FBI is investigating this capturing as an act of home terrorism and hate crime focusing on Catholics, officers stated.
The shooter — armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol — approached the facet of the church at Annunciation Catholic School and shot by way of the home windows towards the youngsters sitting in the pews throughout Mass simply earlier than 8:30 a.m.
Mr. O’Hara stated Westman used all three weapons and fired dozens of rounds. Westman tried to barricade the doorways with a wood plank on the facet of the church the place he was capturing.
Westman legally bought the weapons, had no recognized prison historical past and acted alone, the chief stated.
An August 2021 publish on the Facebook web page for the Church of the Annunciation celebrated the retirement of Mary Grace Westman after 5 years working there. A church publication from 2016 introduced her hiring as a brand new administrative assistant in the enterprise workplace and stated she was a member of Saint Agnes Church in St. Paul.
It isn’t clear if Robin Westman ever attended church, visited the grounds or was enrolled in college at Annunciation. A cellphone name and textual content message to a cellphone quantity listed as belonging to Mary Grace Westman was not answered Wednesday afternoon.
Associated Press reporters tried to achieve the shooter’s father at an handle listed as his residence, however no one answered the door. Phone calls and textual content messages to numbers related to Robin Westman’s siblings additionally weren’t answered.
A spokesperson for the Archdiocese declined to reply questions when approached at the church on Wednesday.
Federal officers referred to Westman as transgender. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey condemned anybody who would use the capturing to villainize the transgender group.
In 2020, a decide accredited a petition, signed by Westman’s mom, asking for a reputation change from Robert to Robin, saying the petitioner “identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.”
Westman’s uncle, former Kentucky state lawmaker Bob Heleringer, instructed The Associated Press that he barely knew Robin Westman however was watching protection of Wednesday’s tragedy.
When reached by cellphone, after a protracted pause, Heleringer initially stated, “I don’t know what to say.”
“I wish he had shot me instead of innocent schoolchildren,” Mr. Heleringer added.
Mr. Heleringer stated Robin is the youngest baby of considered one of his sisters. He stated he final noticed Robin at a household wedding ceremony a number of years in the past however has not had contact with Robin since then.
Police stated they have been conscious of time-released video and writings which will have come from the shooter. On a YouTube channel titled “Robin W” there have been at the least two movies posted earlier than the channel was taken down by website directors. The movies by no means present the face of the particular person talking.
In one video that was about 10 minutes lengthy, a cellphone digital camera pans to point out a cache of weapons, ammunition and loaded magazines with sayings written on them together with “kill Donald Trump” and (*17*) Some have been written in Cyrillic.
During the video, the particular person filming sings the phrase “tomorrow” and says, “I’m sorry to my family… that’s the only people I’m sorry to.” Also, “I regret everything. I didn’t ask for life. You didn’t ask for death.”
At one level, the particular person holds up a smaller firearm from the cache and says, “This one is for me. In case I need it.”
The video additionally exhibits a letter written to the particular person’s household, apologising for what the capturing will imply for them, expressing love for them, and saying to alter their identify and “move on.”
A second, virtually 20-minute-long video exhibits two completely different journals. The first is greater than 150 pages, all written in what seems to be the Cyrillic alphabet. The second journal had a final entry dated 8-21-25 and was greater than 60 pages and additionally written fully in Cyrillic.
The second pocket book had a sticker on the inside cowl depicting a semiautomatic AK-style rifle on prime of a trans equality delight flag. Next to it was a sticker for the band KMFDM. One of the shooters in the 1999 Columbine School capturing posted the band’s lyrics on his web site previous to the rampage.
The German industrial band has issued statements repeatedly condemning violence and college shootings. But in a number of excessive profile shootings since Columbine, shooters have had shirts, stickers or different references to the band as a reference to the Columbine capturing.
During the video, the particular person may be heard mumbling and respiration closely. “I’ll probably just upload a video on the day,” the particular person says earlier than flipping to what seems to be a drawing of the structure of a church, pointing to 2 outdoors home windows and then stabbing the illustration with a protracted knife.
