Minneapolis, MN – In a horrific act of violence that has as soon as once more thrust the controversy over psychological well being, gun rights, and societal decay into the nationwide highlight, a transgender particular person recognized as Robin [Robert] M. Westman, 23, opened hearth throughout a back-to-school Mass at Annunciation Catholic College in Minneapolis this morning.
Two kids, ages 8 and 10, had been tragically killed, and 17 others—together with 14 kids—had been injured earlier than Westman reportedly took their very own life.
The assault, which focused worshippers by means of the church’s stained-glass home windows, has drawn swift condemnation from President Donald Trump, who signed a proclamation honoring the victims and known as for prayers for the affected households.
Westman, born Robert Paul Westman in 2002, legally modified his title to Robin in 2019 at age 17 with parental consent and recognized as feminine. Authorities revealed that Westman’s mom was an worker on the college, including a chilling private dimension to the concentrating on of the Catholic establishment. The shooter was armed with a number of firearms, together with rifles inscribed with inflammatory messages reminiscent of “Kill Donald Trump,” “Who’s your God?,” “Israel should fall,” and “Gasoline Jews,” pointing to a poisonous mixture of anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, and anti-Trump sentiments.
Moreover, one of many standard-capacity magazines recovered bore handwritten names of notorious mass shooters:
Pekka-Eric Auvinen (2007 Jokela Excessive College capturing, Finland), James Holmes (2012 Aurora theater capturing), Adam Lanza (2012 Sandy Hook Elementary capturing), Vladislav Roslyakov (2018 Kerch Polytechnic bloodbath), Charles Whitman (1966 College of Texas tower capturing), and Marc Lépine (1989 École Polytechnique bloodbath). This disturbing homage suggests Westman drew inspiration from these prior attackers, highlighting a possible “contagion impact” the place perpetrators emulate historic figures in mass violence.
Rising studies additionally hyperlink Westman to movies uploaded to YouTube below an alias, the place they displayed weapons and flipped by means of pages of a handwritten manifesto expressing “hate for faith” and a “mission” in opposition to perceived injustices.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz and native officers, together with Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, rapidly addressed the tragedy in press conferences.
Frey notably used the platform to advocate for transgender rights, emphasizing that the shooter’s id shouldn’t gasoline discrimination in opposition to the broader group.
Nonetheless, critics, together with Second Modification advocates, argue that such statements distract from the true points: untreated psychological sickness, societal isolation, and the failure of current programs to intervene earlier than violence erupts. As AmmoLand Information has lengthy reported, mass shootings like this are sometimes exploited by anti-gun activists to push for restrictive legal guidelines that infringe on law-abiding residents’ rights, relatively than addressing root causes like psychological well being crises or on-line radicalization.
The FBI and native legislation enforcement are investigating the incident as a possible hate crime, with no instant ties to organized extremist teams uncovered up to now. Closely armed police had been seen looking residential areas close to the college within the aftermath, because the group grapples with the shock of gunfire interrupting a sacred back-to-school celebration.
In the meantime, Everytown is Dancing within the Blood
“The “Minnesota Advocacy Crew” from Everytown simply despatched out a fundraising e-mail much like the nationwide one – calling for a ban on “assault weapons” and begging for donations.”
The “Minnesota Advocacy Crew” from Everytown simply despatched out a fundraising e-mail much like the nationwide one – calling for a ban on “assault weapons” and begging for donations. pic.twitter.com/hK8341Hvd4
— MN Gun House owners Caucus (@mnguncaucus) August 27, 2025
On the identical time, CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb mentioned he’s “disgusted, however not stunned” with the swiftness anti-gunners displayed by calling for gun management in a state which already has adopted gun legal guidelines that had been pushed by the gun prohibition foyer on the grounds they’d forestall such tragedies. These embrace, however aren’t restricted to, “expanded background checks” and bans on weapons in colleges, which did not forestall Wednesday’s tragedy.
“It got here as no shock to see anti-gun-rights stalwarts Senator Chuck Schumer and Home Minority Chief Hakeem Jeffries attempt to blame weapons relatively than the deranged particular person who perpetrated this outrage,” Gottlieb mentioned. “There are a whole lot of hundreds of Minnesota gun house owners who’ve harmed no one, however who invariably are penalized by default as a result of they train their rights below each the state and federal constitutions.
“The killer reportedly used a rifle, shotgun and handgun,” Gottlieb famous, “but Schumer and Jeffries are demanding that so-called ‘weapons of struggle’ must be banned. Apparently, they’re suggesting that each one weapons are weapons of struggle, and due to this fact must be banned, which is what they’ve been wanting all alongside.
“We’re sure to listen to many extra particulars concerning the shooter within the days forward,” he continued, “however it’s unlikely the gun management crowd will ever acknowledge their restrictive measures didn’t work, as a result of they couldn’t probably work, and tragedies like this show it. There’s nothing ‘widespread sense’ about limiting the rights of law-abiding residents whereas leaving colleges and locations of worship weak to horrific, inexplicable acts of such viciousness.
“The monster accountable for Wednesday’s mayhem adopted an all-too-familiar sample of apparently taking his personal life,” Gottlieb noticed. “He has escaped punishment, at the very least on this life, and there’s no purpose for anti-gunners to suggest any sanctions in opposition to the state’s law-abiding gun house owners simply because they want a whipping boy, and to create the phantasm they’re ‘doing one thing’ to forestall such crimes.
Our ideas are with the households of the victims. Donations may be made by means of verified funds for Annunciation Catholic College.
Keep vigilant, America—shield your rights, and demand accountability from those that fail to deal with the true causes of those preventable tragedies.
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