Transgender Minneapolis Shooter Expressed Regret in Manifesto Before Church Attack

MINNEAPOLIS — A 23-year-old gunman, Robin Westman, who carried out a mass shooting at the Church of Annunciation on Wednesday, targeting children during a Mass service, posted a manifesto expressing regret over identifying as transgender. The attack resulted in the deaths of two children and injured over a dozen others before Westman took his own life.

Westman, who changed his name from Robert to Robin at age 17 to reflect his identification as female, according to court documents, recorded a video manifesto prior to the attack. In it, he expressed conflicted feelings about his transgender identity.

“I only keep [the long hair] because it is pretty much my last shred of being trans. I am tired of being trans, I wish I never brain-washed myself,” Westman wrote. “I don’t want to dress girly all the time but I guess sometimes I really like it. I know I am not a woman but I definitely don’t feel like a man.”

He continued, “I can’t cut my hair now as it would be an embarrassing defeat, and it might be a concerning change of character that could get me reported. It just always gets in my way. I will probably chop it on the day of the attack.”

Westman’s manifesto also revealed his regret over transitioning, stating, “I regret being trans… I wish I was a girl I just know I cannot achieve that body with the technology we have today. I also can’t afford that.” He added, “I like feeling sexy and cute, but my face never matches how I feel. I hate my face… maybe that’s why I like furries so much. You can give yourself a new body and face.”

The manifesto detailed Westman’s disturbing fascination with targeting children, describing a desire to be a “scary horrible monster standing over those powerless children.” He outlined plans to attack the Church of Annunciation, noting, “It seems like a good combo of easy attack from and devastating tragedy.” Westman considered targeting children during recess or an event at the church to maximize the impact while avoiding parents.

Westman’s journal also revealed an obsession with Adam Lanza, the perpetrator of the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting that killed 20 first-graders and six adults. “I have a deep fascination with one man in particular: Adam Lanza,” Westman wrote in a May 23 entry. “Sandy Hook was my favorite, I think, exposure of school shootings.” The journal included a photograph of Lanza.

Mary Grace Westman, the shooter’s mother, worked at the Church of Annunciation, which includes a Catholic school, for five years until her retirement in 2021.