‘FBI Director Kash Patel identified the shooter as male. Legal documents requesting a name change for Westman say she identified as female,’ NBC reports
The transgender perpetrator of Wednesday’s attack on a Catholic church and school in Minneapolis, Robin Westman, was born Robert but changed his name at 17 years old because he identified as a female, court records show. Here’s how mainstream media reports described him.
Minnesota Star Tribune
Who is Robin Westman, suspect in the Annunciation Church shooting?
“Westman legally changed his name to Robin M. Westman in 2020. Court records show Westman’s mother sought the change because her child ‘identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.’ It’s unclear what gender Westman identified with recently.”
NBC News
What we know about the suspect in the Minneapolis Catholic school shooting
“The suspect who opened fire in Minneapolis at a Catholic school during Mass has been identified by authorities as a person in her early 20s who left behind online videos with disturbing content and writings that referred to suicide.”
“FBI Director Kash Patel identified the shooter as male. Legal documents requesting a name change for Westman say she identified as female.”
Politico
Playbook: The RFK Jr. revolution
“23-year-old Robin Westman did not have an extensive known criminal history, acted alone and legally purchased the weapons recently. Federal officials referred to Westman as transgender, and the mayor decried hatred being directed at ‘our transgender community.’ Westman’s gender identity is not clear.”
2 children killed in ‘horrific’ shooting at Minneapolis Catholic school
“The assailant, whom O’Hara identified as Robin Westman, 23, was confirmed dead on the scene as the result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.”
Washington Post
Shooter who opened fire on Minneapolis Catholic school posted rambling videos
“Federal officials have called Westman transgender, but it is unclear how the shooter identified at the time of the incident. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey warned at a news conference Wednesday that the mass shooting should not be used to scapegoat people.”
Children prayed for ‘a future filled with hope.’ Then the gunfire began.
“The assailant’s name was legally changed from Robert to Robin about five years ago because Westman ‘identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification,’ according to court records.”
New York Times
Minneapolis Suspect Knew Her Target, but Motive Is a Mystery
“As a 17-year-old, she filed a court document to change her first name, to Robin from Robert. It was also signed by her mother. The document noted that Ms. Westman ‘identified as female and wants her name to reflect that identification.’
“On social media, some conservative activists have seized on the shooter’s gender identity to broadly portray transgender people as violent or mentally ill. The police did not provide any motive for the attack, but Ms. Westman’s extensive social media history was a contradictory catalog of anger and grievance.”
Associated Press
Police say Minneapolis church shooter was filled with hatred and admired mass killers
“Federal officials referred to Westman as transgender, and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey decried hatred being directed at ‘our transgender community.’ Westman’s gender identity wasn’t clear. In 2020, a judge approved a petition, signed by Westman’s mother, asking for a name change from Robert to Robin, saying the petitioner ‘identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.'”
NPR
The latest on the mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school
“In court documents obtained by NPR, the mother, Grace – Mary Grace Westman, wrote, ‘minor child identifies as female and wants her name to reflect that identification.’ However, we do not know how the person currently identified, but the suicide note was signed as Robin.”
Axios
What we know about the shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis
“According to Dakota County Court records, the shooter’s mother applied to have her child’s name changed to Robin M. Westman because her child ‘identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.’ That detail stirred hateful online posts toward transgender people, which the mayor condemned.”
Wall Street Journal
How the Minneapolis Catholic School Shooting Unfolded
“Westman was a trans woman, according to court documents, who had petitioned for a name change to Robin in 2020.”
