It was supposed to be a normal Wednesday morning back in August 2025. Students at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis were gathered for their first school-wide Mass of the year. It’s that familiar, quiet scene: the smell of old wood and incense, kids whispering in pews, and the morning sun hitting the stained glass.
Then the glass shattered.
At approximately 8:27 a.m., 23-year-old Robin Westman—a former student of the school—approached the building from the outside. Westman didn't walk through the front doors. Instead, the shooter stood outside and fired over 116 rounds from an AR-15-style rifle directly through the church windows.
It was a nightmare.
Two children, Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed right where they sat. Thirty others were injured, mostly from gunfire, though some from the chaos of trying to escape a building where the exit doors had been barricaded from the outside with lumber.
Basically, it was a trap.
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The Identity of the Trans Shooter in Minneapolis
Whenever a tragedy like this happens, the internet moves faster than the facts. Within hours, the identity of the trans shooter in Minneapolis became the center of a massive national debate. Law enforcement, including Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara and FBI Director Kash Patel, eventually confirmed the shooter was Robin M. Westman.
Westman was born Robert Paul Westman in 2002. Court records from Dakota County show that in 2019, while still a minor, Westman’s parents petitioned for a legal name change. The documents stated that the child "identifies as a female and wants her name changed to reflect that identification." By January 2020, the change was official.
But here is where the "why" gets complicated.
Investigators later found hundreds of pages of diary entries and two YouTube videos that Westman had scheduled to go live right around the time of the attack. In these writings, Westman expressed a deep, dark "disillusionment" with being transgender. Some notes said things like "tired of being trans" and "corrupted by this world."
While the shooter identified as trans, there’s no evidence—at least according to investigators so far—that Westman had actually undergone any medical gender-affirming care or hormone replacement therapy (HRT). It seems like the internal struggle was just one part of a much larger, more violent psychological breakdown.
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A "Mishmash" of Motives
If you’re looking for a simple political narrative here, you won't find it. Westman’s manifesto and the inscriptions on the weapons used—a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol—were honestly all over the place.
On the rifle magazines, Westman had scrawled:
- "Kill Donald Trump"
- "For the Children"
- "Where is your God?"
There were also Cyrillic inscriptions and phrases with antisemitic undertones. In one of the YouTube videos, the camera panned over the arsenal and even showed a hand-drawn map of the church with a knife stabbing the layout. This wasn't a snap decision; it was a cold, calculated plan that had been "in the back of my head for years," as Westman wrote.
The Red Flags We Often Miss
Westman had no criminal record. None. The guns were purchased legally and recently, mostly from local pawnshops. One journal entry even noted how "shockingly easy" it was to get them.
Looking back, the signs were there, but they were quiet. Westman worked as a personal care specialist at a medical cannabis dispensary in Eagan but was let up on August 16—just eleven days before the shooting—due to absenteeism and tardiness. A neighbor mentioned that Westman spent a lot of time on the apartment patio smoking pot and seemed "mentally ill," but no one intervened.
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It’s a pattern we see a lot. A "mishmash" of radicalization, personal failure, and accessible weapons.
Federal authorities, including the ATF and FBI, are treating this as an act of domestic terrorism and an anti-Catholic hate crime. Because Westman targeted a specific religious community during a Mass, the Department of Justice has taken an active role in the investigation.
Navigating the Aftermath
Minneapolis is still healing. The vigil at Lynnhurst Park brought out hundreds of people, not to argue about politics, but to mourn Fletcher and Harper.
Mayor Jacob Frey was pretty blunt about the political fallout. He warned people against using the shooter's identity to "villainize" the entire transgender community. At the same time, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has reportedly looked into the psychological effects of various medications, though again, it’s unclear if Westman was even taking anything.
Honestly, the hardest part for the families is knowing the shooter was one of their own. Westman’s mother had worked in the parish office for years before retiring. Westman sat in those same pews as a student, graduating 8th grade in 2017.
Next Steps for Understanding and Action:
If you are following the developments of the trans shooter in Minneapolis case or want to support the community, here are the most effective ways to stay informed and help:
- Support the Victims: Check verified GoFundMe pages for the families of Fletcher Merkel and Harper Moyski to assist with funeral costs and medical bills for the 30 survivors.
- Monitor Official Reports: Follow the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) and the FBI's Twin Cities field office for updates on the "manifesto" analysis, as many snippets circulating online are still unverified by independent sources.
- Engage in Local Safety Policy: Participate in Minneapolis City Council meetings regarding school and house-of-worship security, specifically concerning "soft target" vulnerabilities like the stained-glass windows exploited in this incident.
- Mental Health Awareness: If you or someone you know is exhibiting signs of radicalization or extreme "disillusionment" paired with an interest in firearms, contact local mental health crisis lines or the FBI’s tip line before a tragedy occurs.