MN- Minneapolis, mass shooting at church, multiple fatalities, possible explosive device found. Aug 2025

[longlonglake]

What is the incidence of anti-trans hate crimes? Is there anywhere with statistics?

 

[indicolite22]

YES! I also noticed there isn't any mention of WHY.. just depression. Good life, love from family and friends, says it's not anyone's fault, just depression for years. So, what makes someone just from I'm depressed to I want to commit a mass shooting? Disturbing that they said it's been something they thought about for years. Most depressed people don't want to hurt anyone but themselves.

They see infamy as an achievement. If they just killed themselves, nobody would have heard of their name.

 

[Hexe]

That's a really good guess actually. Edited. Anyone familiar with the Cyrillic alphabet? Is that what we are seeing from his youtube video?

I was born behind the Iron Curtain, had mandatory Russian lessons in primary school, and OMG yes, the writings in the notebook he is flipping through do look like Cyrilic.

 

[FoxxTraxx]

That's a really good guess actually. Edited. Anyone familiar with the Cyrillic alphabet? Is that what we are seeing from his youtube video?

With the internet it's pretty easy to translate words from English into the Cyrillic alphabet. I don't think a special class would be needed.
When the war in Ukraine started I was curious about signs shown in either Ukranian or Russian, and figured out how to translate them. Now WHY this person wrote some words using Cyrillic is puzzling. Perhaps investigators will figure that out.

 

[Justice101]

Just horrible. Of all people to target, innocent kids in a church?

If there is a hell... that is exactly where this person will go.

 

[Synergizer Bunny]

They see infamy as an achievement. If they just killed themselves, nobody would have heard of their name.

It's tragic all the way around. To me, what this young man/woman did was so selfish to the children, the parents, the school, the community, his parents, his siblings, his relatives, his friends.

I was wondering the connection that he had to be familiar with this particular school similar to the murder of school children in Connecticut and the school children in Tennessee. It's like these mentally ill individuals don't just "randomly" pick a school. This particular church/school is where his mother worked for about five years and apparently retired from there.

I have no doubt that his mother (in particular) is reeling from this news. I feel like the shooter's family are victims, too. Here is an article as a source: Mom of Minneapolis mass shooter Robin Westman worked at Catholic school where he opened fire, killing 2 kids: police

JMO.

 

[fred&edna]

They see infamy as an achievement. If they just killed themselves, nobody would have heard of their name.

true. they think they are sooo special... entitling them to do damn-near anything including murder of innocent children and adults.

eta' to display all that weaponry, ammo, and rant. they go and shoot innocents like fish in a barrel. makes them so typical... typical evil and ridiculous. not much special about that these days. the only people who are special are the victims and their loved ones.

jmo

 

[Sunshynn]

it seems that most every manifesto is all about me, me, me, me. these killers think of no one but themselves... ever. there's no one more important than me and what i want, need, believe. it's beyond disgusting.

jmo

Not only that but asks his family to pray for his victims.
Just bizarre.
I wish, if these people are determined to leave this world that they would just do it without targeting innocent people.

 

[Dotta]

I was born behind the Iron Curtain, had mandatory Russian lessons in primary school, and OMG yes, the writings in the notebook he is flipping through do look like Cyrilic.

He used Cyrillic alphabet to write literally
"From memory" - in the second line.
English phrase in Cyrillic.
(Not translation, but Cyrillic letters)

And below there is a sketch of the Church's interior.

JMO

 

[fcavanaugh]

IMO we live in a cesspool society.

Children and Teachers murdered at schools and churches.
Children scared to go to school.
Parents scared to send their children to school.
College students slaughtered in their sleep.
I could go on.

Personally as a grandmother of several elementary aged schoolchildren from a relatively safe area, I still worry about my grandkids and their parents everyday. Pray the kids come home safe from school and their parents from work and their various activities/outings because as we all know, this kind of mass mayhem murder happens far too often and can happen literally anywhere at any time. Scary.

People, imo monsters, that murder and maim children are whole other level sick and twisted imo. Attribute it to some sort of mental illness sure, obviously someone who does these things are not rational thinking/mentally healthy people. Typically unhinged ticking time bombs not currently receiving mental health treatment, unmedicated, undiagnosed, or all of the above.
I acknowledge that the U.S. healthcare and mental health system is broken and in dire need of revamp/major overhaul. Perhaps a good idea to study the brain of deceased mass murderers’ like was done on notorious serial killer Ted Bundy after he was executed and perhaps the professionals who conduct such studies would find area that controls emotions and impulse control lacking in some manner like they found with Ted B. Don’t recall the technical terms but I believe it has something to do with brain matter in those specific areas being less abundant than a healthy normal brain. Not that these type of studies will stop future or copycat mass murderers from unfortunately happening but potentially provide some insight, and a good tool for learning and scientific documentation purposes.

For the record, as far as I’m concerned nothing, including faulty brain wiring, justifies or excuses premeditated cold blooded murder of innocent children and citizens.
Most people including those that are mentally ill know right from wrong and that taking a life is wrong and against the law. I would argue that a mentally ill person suffering from severe chronic depression, bipolar disorder, borderline PD etc. are more likely to take their own life rather than someone else’s.

Unless someone is evaluated and declared to be legally insane (didn’t/doesn’t know right from wrong) like Andrea Yates which is extremely rare imo, there are no excuses. At any rate, we’ll never know if this person was/would have been declared legally insane or not since he killed himself after perpetrating this horrific atrocity.

IMO barring legal insanity, most people, mentally ill or not, know right from wrong and I believe in majority of cases of premeditated cold blood murder, comes down to making a deliberate cognizant choice and lack of self control. Just my own opinion.

My sincere condolences to the victims and their families.
Devastating and heartbreaking.

 

[Arkay]

I’m trying to catch up on the thread now, but I’m reading the more recent posts first to learn more info about what has happened.

I saw the picture of the shooter and the letters to family and friends, but have not yet seen the video here, where it seems the shooter appears to be crazed?

So just going by the letters to family etc., this is so challenging to understand.

Feeling loved and safe with family, great parents, accepting of their child’s gender desire, having friends—-yet killing children at the very place the mother had worked?

Giving advice to a sibling to reconcile with the mother? Like a peacemaker would do?

Yes, if the shooter was so profoundly unhappy, deeming his death a self-inflicted cancer, why not just commit suicide to put yourself out of anguish and leave the innocent to live?

A rhetorical question, I know. The “why” is different for all killers.

Mental health seems to be the common denominator, but from the outside looking in, it appears this killer was able to hide most of the true nature from the family.

JMO

 

[fred&edna]

It's tragic all the way around. To me, what this young man/woman did was so selfish to the children, the parents, the school, the community, his parents, his siblings, his relatives, his friends.

I was wondering the connection that he had to be familiar with this particular school similar to the murder of school children in Connecticut and the school children in Tennessee. It's like these mentally ill individuals don't just "randomly" pick a school. This particular church/school is where his mother worked for about five years and apparently retired from there.

I have no doubt that his mother (in particular) is reeling from this news. I feel like the shooter's family are victims, too. Here is an article as a source: Mom of Minneapolis mass shooter Robin Westman worked at Catholic school where he opened fire, killing 2 kids: police

JMO.

it's possible his family tried to prevent a tragedy. i do know of one mass shooter case where a family did nearly everything possible to prevent harm.

jmo

 

[Chimera]

From everything out there it sounds like the perp had a supportive family.
Don't know about workplace issues or school/college problems.
Bullied ?
Whatever his issues were, there's no excuse for such actions.
Targeting children ?
No, he loses any sympathy for whatever was happening in his mind or life -- when he chose the most innocent of us all to murder.

I am also sorry for his own family !
Imo.

 

[Gators North]

The shooting is now being investigated as a hate crime.

Live updates: Shooter at a Minneapolis Catholic school kills 2 children, injures 17 people

A gunman identified as Robin Westman has killed two children and injured 17 other people at a Minnesota Catholic school on Wednesday before killing himself, officials said.

apnews.com

 

[Inthedetails]

What is the incidence of anti-trans hate crimes? Is there anywhere with statistics?

I don't know the incidence statistics, but it's no secret there is a lot of hatred directed toward trans people.

I AM NOT DEFENDING THE SHOOTER but am acknowledging that trans people suffer from a lot of ignorant hatred spewed in their direction. No excuse to kill people, of course.

jmopinion

 

[Ontario Mom]

Those poor kids.
I wish these disturbed males would just end their own lives and leave everyone else alone. I guess very few people would know of them if they just did that though.

I think we can all understand the sentiment. I'd much rather these guys would get the proper mental health treatment so that everyone just gets to go on living and being a productive member of society & families stay intact. I know, that's fantasy land. Not at all the world we live in.

 

[steeltowngirl]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1960769370667540962

 

[Ontario Mom]

The shooting is now being investigated as a hate crime.

Live updates: Shooter at a Minneapolis Catholic school kills 2 children, injures 17 people

A gunman identified as Robin Westman has killed two children and injured 17 other people at a Minnesota Catholic school on Wednesday before killing himself, officials said.

apnews.com

As it should be. Someone earlier in the thread called it demonic, and it's about as accurate as can be.

 

[steeltowngirl]

Yes, demonic.
And I hope he spends eternity burning.

JMO

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

The shooter lawfully purchased the firearms used in shooting, police chief says.

Live updates: Shooter at a Minneapolis Catholic school kills 2 children, injures 17 people

A gunman identified as Robin Westman has killed two children and injured 17 other people at a Minnesota Catholic school on Wednesday before killing himself, officials said.

apnews.com