FBI investigating Minneapolis Catholic church shooting as hate crime
Caroline MolloyFBI Director Kash Patel announced Aug. 27 that the agency is investigating the shooting at Annunciation Parish and School in Minneapolis as an anti-Catholic hate crime.
“The FBI is investigating this shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics,” Patel wrote in a brief statement on X. “There were 2 fatalities, an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old. In addition, 14 children and 3 adults were injured. The shooter has been identified as Robin Westman, a male born as Robert Westman. The FBI will continue to provide updates on our ongoing investigation with the public as we are able.”
The Washington Post confirmed that “Mary Westman, Robin Westman’s mother, applied for a name change for her child in 2019 from Robert Paul Westman to Robin M. Westman because her child ‘identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification,’ according to court records in Dakota County, Minn.”
At the time, Robert was 17 years old.
KSTP investigative reporter Ryan Raiche found videos on a YouTube account believed to belong to Westman. The account has since been taken offline, but the videos seem to have been posted the morning of the shooting.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said investigators believe Westman did post the videos.
“The disturbing videos showed Westman’s arsenal of guns, ammunition and what appears to be a handwritten four-page manifesto addressed to Westman’s family and friends,” KSTP reported. “The letter begins, ‘I don’t expect forgiveness … I do apologize for the effects my actions will have on your lives. I was corrupted by this world and have learned to hate what life is.’”
