Minneapolis Shooting Suspect Hated Trump—and All People of Color

The Minneapolis shooter had eclectic politics ranging from explicit Nazism to hate for Trump to transgender equality. 

Robin Westman, 23, dressed in all black, was identified by authorities as having shot through the windows of Annunciation Catholic School during a morning Mass and killed two children, eight and 10 years old. Seventeen others, 14 of whom were children, were injured, seven critically. Westman then shot themself in the back of the church. Westman was a former student at the school.

In a YouTube video now taken offline, Westman had magazines with a variety of slurs and right-wing slogans written on them, including “kick a spic,” “fart nigga,” “McVeigh,” and “Waco.” Westman also had smoke grenades with “Jew Gas” written on them and the antisemitic, pro-Holocaust slogan “6 million wasn’t enough” written on their gear.

Interestingly, one magazine also said “Kill Trump Now.” 

Westman’s apparent video manifesto shows a journal with pages of something written in Russian, featuring disturbing drawings of the Annunciation Church interior. Westman then stabs the pages with a knife, and can be heard whispering “kill them all,” “die, I can’t wait to kill, and kill, and kill, and kill, and kill myself.” These disturbing ramblings continue throughout the 20-minute video. 

Court records show that in November 2019, when Westman was 17, their mother submitted a petition to change their name. A judge approved, writing, “Minor child identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification,” according to The New York Times.

Westman’s social media presence also revealed a sticker with the trans pride flag and a machine gun captioned “Defend Equality.”

The fact that Westman’s statements are so scattered point to the obvious: that they are a deeply unwell person who committed an incredibly heinous act for political reasons that may never be known. It’s more important to actually commit to passing gun control laws than it is trying to parse through Westman’s inflammatory statements.