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

[Breezie]

What we know about the Annunciation Church shooter

Sources have confirmed to KSTP that the shooter at Annunciation Church is 23-year-old Robin Westman.

kstp.com

Neighbors say the home was occupied by a man, a woman, and an adult child whom KSTP has identified as Westman. Neighbors gave a variety of accounts about their interactions with the family. Some say the family kept to themselves, others say they were friendly. One neighbor even described Robin Westman as a nonviolent kid.

 

[tara83]

Another sad thing to me is that hate against trans people is already at an alltime high in this country and now it seems very likely to get even worse and put on other trans people who will be lumped together and had nothing to do with this.

 

[justtrish]

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

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.

 

[Dotta]

It wouldn't surprise me there was no special security. I once lived in south Minneapolis and this church is in a low crime area. It's not far from Minnehaha Creek which meanders through older but high-income neighborhoods.

The Church is, by its nature, open to everyone,
that is "Catholic" nature of the Church,
meaning it is intended for all people.
Open for all.
All embracing.
The Church is missionary.

Closed or barricaded Church
is just a denial of Its Mission.

JMO

 

[Dawookie]

I wish, AGAIN, that families with family members suffering mental illness would PLEASE GET RID OF THEIR GUNS. Get all of them out of the house.

I realize we don't know if he used his own gun or a family member's gun. We will learn that eventually. And I'm not blaming anyone but the shooter.

But, for the safety for everyone, get rid of your guns if you live in a household with a troubled person. (Yes, I know shooters could obtain them elsewhere, but you'd know you did the right thing and didn't make it easy on someone who had plans to kill people.)

My opinion.

jmopinion

As a gun owner I completely agree. Sadly and too many times the signs are ignored or if they aren't nothing is done when they have firearms.

 

[Tricia]

Please remember you MUST post links to source things that you post as facts. The links must be to approved sources, mainstream media, or law enforcement.
If you post something as fact without links, your post will be removed. If you continue to do this, you may get a time-out.
Thank you.
Tricia

 

[MassGuy]

1:08 p.m. - According to court records, Robin Westman’s mother applied to change her child’s name in 2019 from Robert Paul Westman to Robin M. Westman in Dakota County, because she identified as a female. Because Westman was a minor at the time, her mother had to sign off on the change. According to the application, Westman “identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.”

Live: Vigils tonight after shooting killed two children, wounded 17

Police identified Robin Westman, 23, as the shooter, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene. One source told the Minnesota Star Tribune Westman’s mother once worked at Annunciation.

www.startribune.com

 

[Dawookie]

I’m sorry, but pearl-clutching over culture isn’t a helpful response.

There are millions and millions of people who watch “violent junk” on television or play violent video games without devolving into rabid animals that harm children.

A disproportional amount of mass shooters are angry white males: if anything, you should be looking to them and why they feel the need to express themselves through violence, instead of blaming mass media or culture at large.

https://www.npr.org/2021/03/27/981803154/why-nearly-all-mass-shooters-are-men

I wouldn't say a disproportionate amount of mass shooters are white males. That article cites a source that limits their definition of mass shootings to a certain window that creates that data.

 

[Melt71]

8 minutes from where I lived as a teenager, when I was a foreign exchange student living in the US for a year. Also next door to where my best friend worked until recently. So horrified and incredibly thankful I'm from a country that doesn't have gun crime like this.

 

[Inthedetails]

1:08 p.m. - According to court records, Robin Westman’s mother applied to change her child’s name in 2019 from Robert Paul Westman to Robin M. Westman in Dakota County, because she identified as a female. Because Westman was a minor at the time, her mother had to sign off on the change. According to the application, Westman “identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.”

Live: Vigils tonight after shooting killed two children, wounded 17

Police identified Robin Westman, 23, as the shooter, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene. One source told the Minnesota Star Tribune Westman’s mother once worked at Annunciation.

www.startribune.com

Sounds like a supportive family. I'm sorry they are suffering through this extreme act of pure selfishness. I'm sure they feel the world's weight upon them as the community is mourning dead children.

There is some consolation, I suppose, in that the community seems the type to come together in support of each other. That is a blessing you never hope to put to the test.

jmopinion

 

[alucardsdream]

I wish, AGAIN, that families with family members suffering mental illness would PLEASE GET RID OF THEIR GUNS. Get all of them out of the house.

I realize we don't know if he used his own gun or a family member's gun. We will learn that eventually. And I'm not blaming anyone but the shooter.

But, for the safety for everyone, get rid of your guns if you live in a household with a troubled person. (Yes, I know shooters could obtain them elsewhere, but you'd know you did the right thing and didn't make it easy on someone who had plans to kill people.)

My opinion.

jmopinion

I recently lost my husband very suddenly and unexpectedly...I've been staying with my parents for a few weeks and my dad has removed both his guns from the house just because my parents are so worried about my mental state. (I'm an adult with no history of mental illness but I can see why they're so concerned.) I honestly think we could prevent a lot of shootings if every parent took this kind of precaution, especially when they have kids living at home with a documented history of depression or mental illness.

From what I've read at the links posted earlier in the thread, this killer seems surprisingly coherent in his written message but definitely out of control on video. It seems like he was a walking time bomb.

 

[MassGuy]

1:32 p.m. - A YouTube video posted Wednesday morning and attributed to Robin Westman shows a person flipping through pages of a notebook filled with indiscernible writings and mutterings. At the end of the video, the person taking the video begins speaking in English and says, “This will just look like another video on the day that catches you all up,” the speaker says.
The person then flips to an image diagraming the inside of a church with rows of pews. They heavily slam their finger on the document and then stab a knife through it and say, “That’s all, that’s all I do. I fall, I break and I die.”
Another video purportedly to be from Westman appears to show a lengthy apology note to family and friends, saying, “I don’t expect forgiveness and I don’t expect any apology I have to hold much weight, but to my friends and those close to me, I do apologize for the effect my actions will have on your lives.”

Live: Vigils tonight after shooting killed two children, wounded 17

Police identified Robin Westman, 23, as the shooter, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene. One source told the Minnesota Star Tribune Westman’s mother once worked at Annunciation.

www.startribune.com

 

[Inthedetails]

I recently lost my husband very suddenly and unexpectedly...I've been staying with my parents for a few weeks and my dad has removed both his guns from the house just because my parents are so worried about my mental state. (I'm an adult with no history of mental illness but I can see why they're so concerned.) I honestly think we could prevent a lot of shootings if every parent took this kind of precaution, especially when they have kids living at home with a documented history of depression or mental illness.

From what I've read at the links posted earlier in the thread, this killer seems surprisingly coherent in his written message but definitely out of control on video. It seems like he was a walking time bomb.

((@alucardsdream))

 

[Breezie]

Another sad thing to me is that hate against trans people is already at an alltime high in this country and now it seems very likely to get even worse and put on other trans people who will be lumped together and had nothing to do with this.

This is an unfortunate possibility. Audrey Hale, from Nashville, was transgender. There are few others that received less media attention like Alec McKinney, from Colorado.

Teen sentenced to life in prison for May 2019 school shooting

A teen who opened fire in a suburban Denver STEM school last year was sentenced to life in prison.

abcnews.go.com

A 17-year-old transgender teen who told investigators he launched a deadly school shooting in retaliation for being bullied over his gender identity has been sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.

Alec McKinney was sentenced Friday following impassioned, emotional statements from nearly two dozen teachers, students and family members. McKinney and fellow student Devon Erickson, 19, were accused of opening fire at STEM School Highlands Ranch in a suburb south of Denver on May 7, 2019.

 

[justtrish]

Another sad thing to me is that hate against trans people is already at an alltime high in this country and now it seems very likely to get even worse and put on other trans people who will be lumped together and had nothing to do with this.

I don't wish hate on any group of people. I do think this does show that this isn't just white men who commit crimes like this. That was the narrative for years. Many of these recent mass shootings have NOT been straight white men. This issue isn't about any one demographic, and it would be a positive in this case if that was the message received. We need to fix the mental health problems in this country. That effects every single demographic.

There will always be those that say see it's this or that. They will blame one group of people and miss the bigger picture. But I believe most of us can see that it isn't about who committed this one or the last one, because it isn't specific to one gender, one religious belief, one race, etc. There have been mass shooters from many different backgrounds and there is a common theme and that is they aren't mentally well.

IMO

 

[Inthedetails]

1:32 p.m. - A YouTube video posted Wednesday morning and attributed to Robin Westman shows a person flipping through pages of a notebook filled with indiscernible writings and mutterings. At the end of the video, the person taking the video begins speaking in English and says, “This will just look like another video on the day that catches you all up,” the speaker says.
The person then flips to an image diagraming the inside of a church with rows of pews. They heavily slam their finger on the document and then stab a knife through it and say, “That’s all, that’s all I do. I fall, I break and I die.”
Another video purportedly to be from Westman appears to show a lengthy apology note to family and friends, saying, “I don’t expect forgiveness and I don’t expect any apology I have to hold much weight, but to my friends and those close to me, I do apologize for the effect my actions will have on your lives.”

Live: Vigils tonight after shooting killed two children, wounded 17

Police identified Robin Westman, 23, as the shooter, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene. One source told the Minnesota Star Tribune Westman’s mother once worked at Annunciation.

www.startribune.com

This is a wild guess in the dark, but Minnesota has a fantastic language camp for young people. It's located a few hours from Minneapolis, but it is well-known and well-regarded. I'm wondering if the shooter ever attended and learned Russian? Again, complete guess, NOT FACT. imo

Jmopinion

 

[Eli9]

This is a wild guess in the dark, but Minnesota has a fantastic language camp for young people. It's located a few hours from Minneapolis, but it is well-known and well-regarded. I'm wondering if the shooter ever attended and learned Russian? Again, complete guess, NOT FACT. imo

Jmopinion

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

 

[Inthedetails]

BBM:

Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O’Hara addressed members of the press and neighbors. “Don’t just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now. These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school,” Frey said. “Every one of us needs to be wrapping our arms around these families giving them every ounce that we muster. These were Minneapolis families. These were American families,” Frey said.

Live: Vigils tonight after shooting killed two children, wounded 17

Police identified Robin Westman, 23, as the shooter, who died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene. One source told the Minnesota Star Tribune Westman’s mother once worked at Annunciation.

www.startribune.com

 

[Sarahlou]

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.

 

[Dotta]

"Haunting images
have emerged showing Annunciation Catholic School children beaming
as they started their school year
just days before a gunman murdered at least two of their classmates.

The children were seen smiling in a group picture in their school uniforms
in images shared on social media on Monday,

which the school captioned

#AFutureFilledwithHope."

https://twitter.com/x/status/1960777049699729678