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

[Dawookie]

It's really not that simple when the person is an adult. You can't force someone to get mental help if they aren't interested.

But the problem is most of the signs are there when they are teenagers and nothing is really done to get them help.

 

[fred&edna]

has there been any further information about rw's employment after high school, aside from the 3 months at the med cannibis shop as reported. it seems that rw spent so much time fixated on himself/herself there was no time for anything nor anyone else.

also, i wonder if rw did the horrendous hitler salute thing at home as well as in school - as reported by classmate.

how often do young adults write in code. do we know if rw studied foreign languages in a classroom setting.

jmo

 

[Dawookie]

Well said regarding the financing of the weapons cache.

As a side note, the pistol and shotgun are not prestige brands and can be obtained used for several hundred dollars each- or less if one really looks around. Likewise, generic brand AR-15 clones can be obtained used for say, 600-700 dollars?

In the end, the cache could have been self financed by the shooter from working odd jobs while
coach surfing rent free.

Most Taurus pistols can be bought new for $300 or less. If he bought a Mossberg 88, those are usually around $250 new. There are several AR clones that can be had new for around $500. All on the very cheap side for buying guns. I'm interested in when he bought them because if he bought them around the 4th of July, he could have gotten them for even cheaper as im seeing some AR clones for under $400.

He could have bought all 3 for under $1000 brand new which can very easily be done with an credit card or self financed like you said

 

[indicolite22]

Minneapolis shooting updates: Westman’s father reveals new details about attacker

Police say 23-year-old Robin Westman fired 116 rounds through the stained-glass windows of a church next to Annunciation Catholic School, trying to kill as many children as possible

www.the-independent.com

".... According to a warrant seen by Fox 9, Westman’s father told police the shooter recently “broke up with a significant and/or romantic partner” and had been staying with a friend...."

My .02 is that it's inopportune to blame this on a recent break up; imo -- the anger and evil intentions had been simmering for some time.

Wondering about that last part of the sentence.
Would like to know if anyone had started to become fearful of the perp.
Like a long term rage and then if the friend wanted R.W. to move out & that was the proverbial 'last straw' ?
Not blaming the friend.

Eta : Bet the friend is saddened and horrified but grateful to be alive !
Omo.

Brian Entin read some of the shooter's diary entries. It looks like the attack was planned for a while because the shooter is counting down days. They couldn't wait to die. There was no romantic connection so far, though they mention a Theresa in the diary: "Theresa is such a cringe baby. I hated being at her house. I'm surprised she hasn't killed herself."

BE also speaks about the shooter's fascination with mass killers, especially one, but the name isn't given in the video, to avoid giving them even more exposure.

 

[Ontario Mom]

has there been any further information about rw's employment after high school, aside from the 3 months at the med cannibis shop as reported. it seems that rw spent so much time fixated on himself/herself there was no time for anything nor anyone else.

also, i wonder if rw did the horrendous hitler salute thing at home as well as in grade school - as reported by classmate.

how often do young adults write in code. do we know if rw studied foreign languages in a classroom setting.

jmo

Not that I've seen anywhere. Which does seem rather unusual.

 

[indicolite22]

how often do young adults write in code. do we know if rw studied foreign languages in a classroom setting.

jmo

SBM. When in 8th grade, my sister invented her own alphabet which she used in her diary.

It was said that RW did not write in a foreign language, just borrowed letters from the Russian alphabet.

 

[Miss Poovy]

https://www.cnn.com/2025/08/28/us/journal-minneapolis-shooter-robin-westman-invs

Not sure if this article has been posted here but this quote sticks out to me.

At one point, Westman expressed surprise that family members didn’t expect the coming violence.


“I feel like my mom would have seen it coming due to my rocky past with violent threats,” the journal states. “The other day my stepmom… said she could feel a ‘dark energy’ around me… if only you know!”

IMO, as more information comes out from his journals , it seems like red flags were there and seemingly blown off which also seems to be a recurring issue when it comes to the perpetrators of school shootings.

I really wish more parents and the people closest to the shooters would start speaking up and actually get them the mental help they desperately need instead of ignoring the signs

It can by very hard to get an adult mental health services if they do not want it. If they do something semi-outrageous or outrageous but not illegal, you may be able to get a 24-72 hour mental evaluation. Some folks “have feelings” about the 70s era mental health reform moving patients from psychiatric hospitals into the community for treatment.

 

[AngTxGal]

has there been any further information about rw's employment after high school, aside from the 3 months at the med cannibis shop as reported. it seems that rw spent so much time fixated on himself/herself there was no time for anything nor anyone else.

also, i wonder if rw did the horrendous hitler salute thing at home as well as in school - as reported by classmate.

how often do young adults write in code. do we know if rw studied foreign languages in a classroom setting.

jmo

I’m also intrigued by the code writing, and interview with a classmate from 7th grade describing some kind of salute. Many schools talk about codes and code breaking when discussing coding for technology class, and Leonardo Da Vinci wrote in code as he designed and journaled about human anatomy. He also wrote backwards, in code, in Italian.

The classmate said the schools as ‘discrete’ which may mean an ‘internal’ investigation and all actions kept quiet to protect the reputation of the school.

Did the student do anything at the school to a teacher, peer, or themselves to warrant additional actions that were not taken?
Are there documents somewhere showing teachers, parents of peers, or the teen’s own parents had concerns?

What did the parents know? Did the parents know how to read the journals? Code?

Apologies if these topics have been discussed, I’m just now catching up

IMO

 

[Cryptic]

He could have bought all 3 for under $1000 brand new which can very easily be done with an credit card or self financed like you said

Thanks for the added details. I was generally aware that the guns in question are inexpensive, but not aware of just how inexpensive they are.

 

[Ontario Mom]

Brian Entin read some of the shooter's diary entries. It looks like the attack was planned for a while because the shooter is counting down days. They couldn't wait to die. There was no romantic connection so far, though they mention a Theresa in the diary: "Theresa is such a cringe baby. I hated being at her house. I'm surprised she hasn't killed herself."

BE also speaks about the shooter's fascination with mass killers, especially one, but the name isn't given in the video, to avoid giving them even more exposure.

I believe Theresa was his sister. And may I just say, it's like the most repulsive icing on that already demonic cake that he wrote all this vile garbage about his own family members. My heart goes out to them. I can't even imagine.

 

[Cryptic]

It was said that RW did not write in a foreign language, just borrowed letters from the Russian alphabet.

Good point.

Cyrillic, like most alphabets is phonetic. As a result, it can be used to write English as well to a large degree.

Going deep into language trivia, Belarus has used both the Cyrillic and Latin alphabets at the same time. But.... the Imperial Russians eventually squeezed out the Latin alphabet as they wanted to intergrate the area more closely into Russia.

 

[Miss Poovy]

Bolding mine.
Hmm.....

Was this arsenal being kept hidden away, or maybe the shooter had explained to others that it was a hobby ?
Some people do practice at shooting ranges.
Lots of questions.
Imo.

Most Americans wouldn’t find three firearms and this amount of ammunition an arsenal. J/S

 

[Inthedetails]

Most Americans wouldn’t find three firearms and this amount of ammunition an arsenal. J/S

And many would. Just saying.

jmopinion

 

[Dawookie]

Thanks for the added details. I was generally aware that the guns in question are inexpensive, but not aware of just how inexpensive they are.

You're welcome. I didn't realize how cheap the Taurus pistols were because I've never really looked at them but have looked at their revolvers and they can be fairly expensive. When I read that the pistol was jammed, my first thought was probably a Hi-Point or one of the bottom end Taurus pistols because I have seen some pretty bad reviews of them over the years. The lower end Mossberg has always been fairly cheap. Seems like everyone I knew that bought a shot gun when we were able to bought the 88 or splurged for a 500 because they were cheap and reliable. And the AR market is so huge now, you have companies pumping them out so cheap. When I bought mine, they cheapest ones on the market were about $700 and the only way to get one cheaper was to build it yourself going the 80% route which could save you a few hundred dollars.

 

[doublestop]

Most Americans wouldn’t find three firearms and this amount of ammunition an arsenal. J/S

I'm not sure you speak for most Americans. Many would.

 

[Miss Poovy]

I'm not sure you speak for most Americans. Many

Deleted

 

[Elley Mae]

1 pistol, 1 shotgun and 1 rifle I would not consider that to be an arsenal.
As a hunter, collector and shooting instructor hubby had at one time had over 50 weapons, that would be an arsenal. And yes they were kept in multiple safes.

Jmo

 

[Dawookie]

And many would. Just saying.

jmopinion

I think the difference in thinking comes down to being a gun owner and not being a gun owner. Three guns and 3-400 rounds of ammo isn't a lot to a gun owner but I can see how someone who doesn't own guns would see it as an arsenal. For some, that's an average amount of ammo going to the range regularly to get and stay proficient, learning the differences in how their guns shoot, using different ammo to see how it works or if it causes problems with the gun etc. Then you have some competitive shooters who go through ammo like crazy and can go through 30-40k rounds per year.

 

[Miss Poovy]

1 pistol, 1 shotgun and 1 rifle I would not consider that to be an arsenal.
As a hunter, collector and shooting instructor hubby had at one time had over 50 weapons, that would be an arsenal. And yes they were kept in multiple safes.

Jmo

I can see the concern of a person purchasing high powered firearms to kill or maim another person, but I don’t think three firearms are an arsenal.

 

[Miss Poovy]

I think the difference in thinking comes down to being a gun owner and not being a gun owner. Three guns and 3-400 rounds of ammo isn't a lot to a gun owner but I can see how someone who doesn't own guns would see it as an arsenal. For some, that's an average amount of ammo going to the range regularly to get and stay proficient, learning the differences in how their guns shoot, using different ammo to see how it works or if it causes problems with the gun etc. Then you have some competitive shooters who go through ammo like crazy and can go through 30-40k rounds per year.

The fire range my brother uses, requires blanks & at times, blanks are hard to find.