OAN Staff Katherine Mosack and Brooke Mallory
4:38 PM – Wednesday, August 27, 2025
Minneapolis officials held a second news conference following the tragic Catholic school shooting in Minnesota — which left two children dead and 17 others hospitalized.
Two children, ages eight and 10, were fatally shot during their 8:15 a.m. Mass on Wednesday, and the shooter killed himself after opening fire on the kindergarten-through-eighth-grade school.
The now-deceased gunman has been identified by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) as 23-year-old Robin Westman, according to a law enforcement official who spoke with The Associated Press.
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The incident is being treated as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics, based on a manifesto released by Westman prior to the attack, according to FBI Director Kash Patel.
It has also been confirmed that Westman, a biological male, identified as a transgender woman. The shooter’s name-change application, shared online, stated that the reason for the document’s submission was that Westman “identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.”
Westman changed his legal name in 2020 from “Robert” to the more feminine name “Robin.” This, in addition to his Youtube videos posted online, which captured Westman dressed in women’s clothes, led to speculation that the shooter identified as transgender.
This document required a signature from Westman’s mother, Mary Grace Westman, who recently celebrated five years of employment at the same church and school that the gunman targeted.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D-Minn.), the former Democrat running-mate to former Vice President Kamala Harris, opened the conference, describing it as one “that no one wants to be at.”
Walz stated: “Minnesotans will not step away. We’ll stand with this community, we’ll stand with this community. We’ll redouble ourselves to do the best we can to understand what we can do to prevent any parent from having to receive the calls they received today.”
“It’s my strongest desire that no state, no community, no school ever experiences a day like this.”
He also asked that Minnesota be kept in peoples’ thoughts and prayers.
Westman uploaded a video to YouTube showcasing his magazines, which bore inscriptions such as “Kill Donald Trump” and “Where is your God?”
However, despite Westman’s manifesto, his written messages on the magazines, and his familial connection to the church and school, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara stated that he had “no information” on a possible motive for the shooter. He reported a total of 19 victims.
“Two were young children, ages eight and 10, that were sitting in the pews at Mass when they were shot and killed. They were pronounced deceased on the scene,” O’Hara stated. “There were another 14 children between the ages of six and 15 that were injured by gunfire. There were also three adults in their eighties that were parishioners here attending Mass that were also shot in this incident.”
O’Hara also confirmed that the killer had no prior criminal history, and the weapons he used — a rifle, shotgun, and pistol — were lawfully purchased by Westman.
According to O’Hara, the shooter had posted a manifesto video on YouTube around the time of the attack. Additionally, he stated that the FBI is now actively reviewing it, as it has since been removed from the YouTube platform. However, it has been reposted on other platforms, such as X.
The school’s principal, Matthew DuBois, was the next speaker to step up to the podium at the conference.
“We will recover from this. We will rebuild from this,” the principal declared. “When we planned for this school year, we intentionally chose a theme from the prophet Jeremiah, chapter 29. ‘A future filled with hope.’”
Highlighting the horrific implications of the shooter’s actions, DuBois referenced a famous Bible verse from the Old Testament: “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV)
The Annunciation Catholic School was barely halfway through its first week of school at the time of the attack, having only opened back up after summer break on Monday.
In response to the tragedy, President Donald Trump’s office has issued a proclamation ordering the U.S. flag to be flown at half-staff throughout the country and its territories — until sunset on August 31, 2025.
The investigation is currently ongoing.
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