[snip]
‘I was corrupted by this world and have learned to hate what life is.’
Apparently recorded Aug. 26, a video allegedly posted by Westman to YouTube but later scrubbed after the shooting described a deeply depressed individual who had hatred toward the Catholic faith, President Donald J. Trump, Jews, and the children he was about to massacre with his rifle.
[snip]
While asking his parents, family, and friends to “pray for the victims and their families,” Westman nevertheless dripped with disdain and anger, saying, “F**k those kids.”
According to Minneapolis police, Westman stood outside the church during holy Mass for the opening of the 2025-26 school year at Annunciation Catholic School. He fired a rifle through the church windows, striking more than 20 children and adults praying inside. As police closed in on the church, Westman committed suicide in the back of the church, police said.
The FBI is investigating the shooting as an act of anti-Catholic domestic terrorism, Director Kash Patel posted on X.
‘Wanted this for so long’
[snip]
“I have wanted this for so long. I am not well,” Westman wrote. “I am not right. I am a sad person, haunted by these things that do not go away. I know this is wrong but I can’t seem to stop myself. I am severely depressed and have been suicidal for years.
“Only recently have I lost all hope and decided to perform my final action against this world,” Westman wrote. “I don’t want to kneel down for the injustices of this world. I want to die. I’d rather die on my feet than live on my knees, constantly in pain.”
‘It seems to me that he hated God and hated creation.’
Evidence of Westman’s hatred of Catholicism was easy to find in his letter and video. He let out a demonic-sounding laugh when showing a depiction of Jesus Christ in a crown of thorns, pasted to the top of a paper target from a shooting range. Below Christ’s image was a caption that read, “He came to pay a debt He didn’t owe. Because we owe a debt we cannot pay.”
[snip]
On one magazine was the message, “Where is your God?” although while showing it off on camera, Westman said it this way: “Where is your f***ing God now?”
On one side of a Mossberg 590 pump-action shotgun shown on the video was the message, “Take this all of you and eat,” mimicking the words spoken by Christ at the Last Supper when He instituted the Holy Eucharist.
Westman picked up and showed off what appeared to be a snub-nose .38-caliber handgun and said, “This one’s for me in case I need it.” It is not yet known which weapon he used to commit suicide.
Above those words was another message, “F**k this world.” Below it was written, “Baruk Khazâd,” a battle cry from the works of Catholic author J.R.R. Tolkien that means “axes of the dwarves.”
[snip]
Most Rev. Bernard A. Hebda, archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, did not address any specifics of the attack on Annunciation Catholic Church, but asked for prayers from “all men and women of good will.”
‘I just want to escape from this world.’
“I beg for the continued prayers of all of the priests and faithful of this Archdiocese, as well for the prayers of all men and women of good will, that the healing that only God can bring will be poured out on all those who were present at this morning’s Mass and particularly for the affected families who are only now beginning to comprehend the trauma they sustained,” Archbishop Hebda wrote in a letter on the archdiocesan website.
[snip]
In his goodbye letter, Westman apologized to his parents and siblings for the pain his crimes were about to bring upon them.
“I truly appreciate the love you have given me,” Westman wrote to his parents, Mary Grace and James Westman. “I feel I was raised to be a good person. I’ve kept those traits of empathy, self-sacrifice and good character. Please do not think you have failed as parents. I was corrupted by this world and have learned to hate what life is.”
Court-approved name change
Mary Westman petitioned a court in Dakota County, Minn., for her son, Robert Paul Westman, to change his name to Robin M. Westman. According to court records, the name change was granted, effective Jan. 15, 2020.
In his letter, Westman expressed the belief that he was dying of cancer.
[snip]
He credited his family and friends with helping to give him a longer life.
“You all are what kept me going. I find no more interest in anything material,” Westman said. “I have only an interest in my mission and love for my family. If I didn’t have such an amazing group of people around me, I would have been gone much sooner.
“I just want to escape from this world,” he wrote. “Escape from the constant bills, s**tty jobs, s**tty people and injustice of America. I am done with this. I will not bow. I will be selfish and leave you to pick up the pieces. It’s my fault. Blame me, but please move on.” Westman had also written “ATTA” on one of his weapons, along with the word “Mashallah.” Atta was an apparent reference to Mohamed Atta, one of the airline hijackers on Sept. 11, 2001. Mashallah is a phrase referring to the power of “Allah,” the god of Islam.
[snip]
According to the advocacy group CatholicVote, there have been 520 attacks on Catholic churches in the United States since May 2020, including 40 so far in 2025.
“Attacks spiked dramatically after the draft Supreme Court opinion overturning Roe v. Wade was leaked in May 2022,” CatholicVote wrote on its website. “At least 354 attacks have been perpetrated against Catholic churches since the Supreme Court leak, with many including graffiti with pro-abortion messages.”
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