A 23-year-old transgender shooter who scrawled “Kill Donald Trump” on weapon magazines murdered two young children and wounded 17 others at a Minneapolis Catholic church on Wednesday, sparking fierce political debate over what some conservatives are calling “trans terrorism.”
Robin Westman, born Robert Westman, opened fire through church windows during morning Mass at Annunciation Catholic School, killing an eight-year-old and 10-year-old as they sat praying in pews. The FBI is investigating the attack as domestic terrorism and an anti-Catholic hate crime.
Court documents reveal Westman legally changed names aged 17 in 2020, with the filing stating: “Minor child identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.” The revelation immediately ignited controversy, with the term “trans terrorism” trending on social media platforms popular with Trump supporters.
Conservative Backlash Immediate
Within hours of the shooting, prominent right-wing figures seized on Westman’s transgender identity. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene posted on X: “Gender dysphoria is a mental illness and children are being targeted by the multi billion dollar medical and pharmaceutical industry. If they are willing to destroy themselves and how God made them then they are willing to destroy others.”
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, declared: “If you are crazy enough to want to hormonally and surgically ‘change your sex,’ you have a mental disorder, and you are too crazy to own a firearm.”
FBI Director Kash Patel confirmed the shooter’s identity, posting: “The shooter has been identified as Robin Westman, a male born as Robert Westman.” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called Westman a “deranged monster” who was “a 22 year-old man, claiming to be transgender.
Mayor Condemns Anti-Trans Rhetoric
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey forcefully pushed back against attempts to blame the transgender community. “Anybody who is using this as an opportunity to villainise our trans community, or any other community out there, has lost their sense of common humanity,” he said at an emotional press conference.
“We should not be operating out of a place of hate for anyone. We should be operating from a place of love for our kids. Kids died. This needs to be about them.”
The Human Rights Campaign warned against scapegoating, with national press secretary Brandon Wolf stating: “This marks the fifth school shooting of 2025. The common thread in all mass shootings is guns and access to guns.”
Disturbing Manifesto Reveals Complex Motives
Westman posted a chilling manifesto on YouTube hours before the attack, featuring weapons inscribed with inflammatory messages including “Kill Donald Trump,” antisemitic slurs, and references to other mass shooters. The videos showed a handwritten journal mixing English and Cyrillic script.
“I don’t want to dress girly all the time but I guess sometimes I really like it,” Westman wrote in translated portions. “I know I am not a woman but I definitely don’t feel like a man.”
The manifesto revealed deeply conflicted feelings about identity, alongside expressions of hatred towards multiple groups. Westman wrote about targeting “filthy Zionist Jews” and included anti-Christian imagery, displaying a shooting target with Jesus’s image.
Marc Short, former chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, suggested on MSNBC that “people who suffer from gender dysphoria” should be considered mentally ill and have restricted gun access. “There’s been a greater and greater targeting of Christian and Catholic schools by those who view this as restrictive,” he claimed.
No Evidence of ‘Trans Terrorism’ Trend
Despite conservative claims, experts strongly dispute any trend of transgender violence. A PolitiFact analysis found that even if all alleged transgender shooters were confirmed, they would represent just 0.17 per cent of mass shootings – far below the transgender population’s percentage of 0.5 to 1.6 per cent.
“There is no evidence of a widespread trend of transgender radicalization toward violence,” terrorism experts told PolitiFact. Trans people are more likely to be victims of crime than to be perpetrators of it.
GLAAD has documented that “social media accounts with a history of anti-transgender rhetoric frequently and falsely accuse transgender people of crimes, particularly during mass shooting events, before facts are known.
Calculated Church Attack
Police revealed Westman carefully planned the assault, barricading church doors with wooden planks before opening fire with three legally purchased firearms – a rifle, shotgun and pistol. The attack occurred during the school’s first-week-of-term Mass.
“This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping,” said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible.
Westman, a 2017 graduate of Annunciation, had visited the school days before whilst teachers prepared for the new term. The shooter’s mother, Mary Grace Westman, worked at the church until retiring in 2021.
Political Firestorm Intensifies
The shooting has deepened America’s cultural divides over transgender rights and gun control. Conservative commentator Laura Loomer suggested “parents need to start coming together to advocate for trans kids to not be allowed to attend classes in public schools.”
The National Police Association demanded action, posting: “We sued for the Nashville manifesto arguing the increase in mass shootings by ‘trans’ deserved study. Today’s trans mass shooter preemptively uploaded their manifesto.”
However, Minneapolis City Councilmember Emily Koski focused on gun access: “Today, when those students sat in church praying and hoping for the most amazing year ahead, that was wiped away from them.”
Community Mourns Young Victims
As night fell, thousands gathered at vigils across Minneapolis. At Lynnhurst Park, over 1,000 people held candles whilst survivors shared harrowing accounts.
Vincent Francoual’s 11-year-old daughter Chloe survived the attack. “She thought she was going to die today,” he said through tears. “It was complete chaos.”
Ten-year-old Weston was sitting just two feet from a window that shattered under gunfire. “My friend got hit in the back,” he told local media. “I was super scared for him.”
Former President Barack Obama posted: “We can’t allow ourselves to become numb to mass shootings.” President Trump ordered flags at half-staff, calling it a “tragic shooting.”
Transgender Identity Debate Obscures Victims
Westman’s uncle, former Kentucky state representative Bob Heleringer, told media: “I wish he had shot me instead of innocent schoolchildren.”
The manifesto revealed a deeply disturbed individual who wrote: “I have wanted this for so long. I am not well. I am not right. I am severely depressed and have been suicidal for years.”
Despite attempts to politicise the tragedy, experts emphasise that mass shootings are overwhelmingly committed by cisgender men. The focus on Westman’s transgender identity risks overshadowing the loss of two innocent children and the trauma inflicted on an entire community.
As Minneapolis begins healing, fundamental questions remain about America’s gun laws and how someone with documented mental health struggles could legally purchase three firearms used to massacre children at prayer.
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