Police have identified the suspect who, according to them, opened fire outside a church in a Catholic school in Minneapolis, killing two children and hurting another 17, such as Robin Westman, 23.
An 8 and 10 -year -old boy were shot dead when the armed man fired through the windows of a church at the Annunciation Catholic School on Wednesday morning, police said.
The shooter died in the scene of a self -inflicted gunshot wound, said Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara.
The Secretary of National Security Kristi Noem also confirmed the identity of the suspect, calling Westman a “upset monster.”
Police and lifeguards work on the scene of a shooting near the Annunciation Church and the Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minneosta, on August 27, 2025.
Eva Claire Hambach/AFP through Getty Images
“This level of violence is unthinkable. Our deepest prayers are with children, parents, families, educators and Christians everywhere. We cry with them, we pray for healing, and we will never forget them,” Noem said in a statement.
The information of the driver’s license reviewed by ABC News describes Westman as a woman, born on June 17, 2002.
A driver’s license photo obtained by ABC News shows Robin Westman, identified as the suspect on August 27, 2025 in Minneapolis.
Obtained by ABC News
An application for change of name for a minor born on the same date was approved by a district court in Minnesota in 2020, changing the name of a Robert Westman to Robin Westman, explaining the minor child “is identified as a woman and wants her name to reflect that identification.”
Police said it is believed that Westman is the only suspect in this shooting. Westman does not seem to have an extensive or known criminal history, police said.
The law agents meet outside the Annunciation Church after a mass shooting event, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on August 27, 2025.
Tim Evans/Reuters
The authorities said they are looking through the information that is left behind to “try to determine some type of reason” for this shooting. O’Hara told ABC News that the suspect, “he clearly had an obsession upset with previous massive shooters.”
“Ultimately, this person committed this act with the intention of causing so much terror, both trauma, as much carnage as possible for his own personal notoriety,” O’Hara said.
O’Hara said that the authorities do not believe that the suspect has had previous arrests or civil commitments for mental health problems.
The Annunciation Church triggered the suspect from Robin Westman’s mother, worked in the Church until 2021, according to online Church publications. Westman also previously attended school, police chief told ABC News.
Mother worked in the church
In the request for a name change of 2020, Mary Grace Westman was listed as Robin Westman’s mother.
An August 2021 position by the Church, reviewed by ABC News, announced Westman’s retreat after five years of service in the Church.
A 2020 position by the salient shepherd of the Church described Westman as a parish secretary; A 2016 Church Bulletin announced its hiring as an administrative assistant at the Church’s commercial office.
Officials looking for YouTube videos
Officials are investigating a series of videos published on YouTube that are believed to be associated with Westman, according to sources of application of the law familiar with the matter.
Two videos, published on Wednesday morning and since YouTube eliminated it, show someone turning dozens of pages of notes dated in the course of several months, which include what appears to be scribbles of weapons, intermediate fingers and improper fingers. There are also repeated references to murder.
The videos, which represent handwritten magazines and an exhibition of high -power weapons, paint a portrait of a person with a divago and deeply nihilistic perspective, according to the analysis of the application of the law and the ABC news.
The writings in the notebooks and in the firearms, which are written in a mixture of cirílic alphabet, English and other languages, indicate a series of complaints, anger and ideations of damage to itself and others.
The writings also seem to show references open to other high -profile school shooters and shooters.
In a notebook, there is a sticker that says “defend equality” with a LGBTQIA flag, superimposed with a gun. A weapon also has writings against Israel.
Taking a full page of a notebook is a view of birds drawn by hand in the interior of a church with banks. The drawing seems to show the interior design of the Annunciation Church.
In one of the videos, the shooter refers to personal depression and apologizes to family members.
YouTube did not respond to a request for ABC News comments.
Families and loved ones meet outside the police barricades after a shooting in the Annunciation Church, which also houses a primary school, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on August 27, 2025.
Ben Brewer/Reuters
Suspicious worked in the cannabis dispensary
Westman was a former employee in a cannabis dispensary in the Minneapolis area for several months this year, but was not employed by the company at the time of the shooting, confirmed a spokesman for the Rise Medical Cannabis parent company Dispensaries to ABC News.
“We are fully cooperating with the application of the law in your ongoing investigation and we will provide any information that can help your efforts. At this time, our priority is to respect the research process, extend our deepest sympathies to all the impacted and support our team through this horrible tragedy. We will not provide additional comments at this time,” said the promotion deposit in a statement.
Westman mentioned working in a dispensary in a magazine entry in July, according to an ABC News analysis.
On Wednesday morning, the shooter approached to the side of the church and fired the rifle through the windows towards the children and other worshipers sitting in the banks, O’Hara said. Westman was armed with a rifle, shotgun and gun, and the police believe that the shooter shot at the three weapons. Police said Westman bought their weapons legally and were “recently bought.”
Additional firearms are also being recovered from residences that are “related to the shooter,” police said. No explosives were discovered on the scene, but the officials located a “smoke bomb,” police said.
O’Hara described the suspect as a “coward” and said that the shooting was a “deliberate act of violence” that is “absolutely incomprehensible.”
“This type of evil should never happen,” said Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey.
Frey emphasized a second press conference, “anyone who is using this as an opportunity to village our trans community, or any other community, has lost its sense of common humanity. We should not be operating from a place of hate.”
“The children died today,” he continued. “This must be about them. This must be wrapping our arms with these families.”
Katherine Faulders from ABC News, Aaron Katersky, Josh Margolin, Luke Barr, Mike Levine, Sasha Pezenik, Megan Christie and Tonya Simpson contributed to this report.
