Anish Vij
The suspected shooter who shot through the windows of a Minneapolis church shared a disturbing video before allegedly killing two children and injuring 17 others.
23-year-old Robin Westman has been named by Minneapolis Police as the suspect who opened fire at children sitting in the pews during Mass at the Annunciation Catholic School on Wednesday (27 August).
Westman died by suicide after the shooting.
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Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said at a news conference the incident took place just before 8.30am local time, as the shooter arrived at the school with a number of weapons, including a shotgun, rifle and pistol.
Two children, aged eight and ten died, while 14 other children and three parishioners in their eighties were injured, but are expected to survive, the chief said.
“The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible,” said O’Hara.
The alleged shooter uploaded at least two videos to a YouTube channel titled Robin W before the platform removed it on Wednesday.
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In one video, they display a number of weapons and ammunition, some inscribed with phrases including 'kill Donald Trump' and 'Where is your God?'
Another video depicts them pointing to two windows in what appears to be a sketch of the church, before stabbing the drawing with a large knife.
The date of that upload remains unclear.
There's also a notebook, written partly in English and partly in Cyrillic script with scattered Russian words, with suggestions of deep self-hatred.
Other passages also detail their early 'morbid obsession' with other school shooters.
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FBI director Kash Patel said on X that the shooting is being investigated as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.
"FBI agents are on scene, and we ask everyone to keep potential victims, civilians or law enforcement in harm’s way in your prayers," he wrote.
While federal officials identified Westman as transgender, Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey condemned hostility directed toward 'our transgender community'.
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In 2020, a judge approved a petition filed by Westman’s mother to change the name from Robert to Robin, noting that the petitioner 'identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification', according to People.
According to the New York Post however, in one of the videos uploaded, a manifesto written by Robin reads: "I don’t want to dress girly all the time but I guess sometimes I really like it. I know I am not a woman but I definitely don’t feel like a man.
“I really like my outfit. I look pretty, smart and modest. I think I want to wear something like this for my shooting.”
Westman’s mother reportedly worked at the south Minneapolis school until her retirement in 2021. According to NBC affiliate KARE 11, Westman had attended the school for at least a year and was seen there within the past week while teachers prepared for the new school year.