August 27, 2025: Robin Westman shoots up Annunciation Catholic Church during morning Mass. 23-year-old opens fire through stained-glass windows. Kills 2 children, wounds several parishioners. Chaos erupts, shatters peace in tight-knit community.
Just before the attack, Robin Westman posts 2 disturbing YouTube videos. She shows weapons, ammo, 4-page note to family. That note gives us a glimpse into her mind. It’s a mix of despair, anger, apology, justification. Investigators call it a confession not an explanation.
Westman is described as a transgender woman who changed her name years ago. Her rifles and mags have hateful words and extremist slogans. She references past killers like Adam Lanza and Anders Breivik. Feds treat it as terrorism and hate crime against Catholics. The note and its contents show her unraveling.
Apology Without Forgiveness
Westman starts her note with: “I don’t expect forgiveness.” She says her family deserves peace but she can’t deliver it. She apologizes repeatedly but says she’s been corrupted by the world.
Her words switch between love and warning. She tells her parents they “didn’t fail.” She says they shouldn’t feel responsible. She blames life itself.
The note tells siblings to move on. She tells them to change their names if needed and she acknowledges the shame she’ll bring. She ends this section with: “I love you all. Pray for the victims and their families.”
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Monster in Her Own Words
Westman calls herself a “horrible monster standing over those powerless kids.” She admits she knew exactly what she was going to do. The note shows awareness not confusion. She talks about long struggles with depression and self-destructive behavior.
Woman speculates about illness, mentions fears of cancer from heavy vaping. She writes about constant physical pain and crushing mental anguish. Her life, she says, has collapsed into suffering. That’s what she believes has made her unable to escape despair.
The note’s timing shows she planned this. She scheduled the note and videos to go live with the attack. That’s what gives the massacre weight, turns her confession into a public spectacle.
Hateful Symbols and Disturbing Videos
Along with the note, Westman posted videos showing weapons with hateful slogans. She carved slurs, antisemitic phrases and extremist references into her mags. She even wrote “Kill Donald Trump” and words glorifying genocide.
Later investigators found church layouts and diagrams. They also found writings in English and Cyrillic. This showed obsessive research. She praised mass shooters including Breivik and Tarrant, using their language.
Police found 116 spent rounds at the scene. Westman had enough ammo to do a lot more damage. Her weapons showed planning and deadly intent. She attacked the very school she once attended and where her mom worked.
Children Lost to Gunfire
The most heartbreaking part was from the victims. Eight year old Fletcher Merkel and ten year old Harper Moyski are dead. Both had gone to Mass that morning with their classmates. Families, friends and parishioners are mourning publicly.
Candlelight vigils filled the Minneapolis streets. Churches, mosques and synagogues held interfaith services. Leaders called for unity against violence. Communities are demanding reforms around guns, mental health and online radicalization.
Parents are grief and anger. They are asking how Westman got the weapons despite years of scary behavior. They are demanding stronger safeguards for schools and worship spaces.
Community Response
Local leaders vowed to support survivors. Volunteers provided counseling and meals. Neighbors created funds for affected families. School officials prepared long term therapy for children traumatized by gunfire.
Faith leaders spoke against hate. Catholic bishops stood beside Jewish and Muslim leaders in solidarity. Messages of peace filled Minneapolis pulpits. Survivors described resilience amid pain.
Gun control advocates renewed demands for stronger laws. Mental health organizations called for investment in prevention programs. Politicians debated the balance between free speech online and extremist propaganda. The tragedy reignited national debate over guns and radicalization.
National Debate Intensifies
Across America the shooting sparked fierce discussion. Commentators linked the attack to rising extremism. Others emphasized untreated mental illness. Many highlighted easy access to assault weapons.
Lawmakers clashed over policy. Some urged new bans on high capacity magazines. Others argued existing laws need better enforcement. The divide reflected America’s ongoing struggle with gun violence.
Families of victims demanded urgency. They described broken systems that failed to stop a troubled young person. Their voices carried emotional weight in hearings and media.
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Final Thoughts
Robin Westman’s letter to her parents is chilling. It shows a person consumed by hopelessness and it also shows the contradictions of love and destruction. It shows the merging of mental illness and extremism.
The tragedy left its mark on Minneapolis and a lesson for the country. The note can’t be a sensational object. It must make us confront violence at its source.
Better mental health care, stricter gun laws and vigilance against extremism are key. Families should be protected from this kind of horror. Children should have classrooms and churches free of fear. Communities should have peace not candlelight vigils.
Westman’s note gives us a glimpse into a broken soul. That glimpse demands action. Action, reform and prevention. Then we can hope no one writes another note like that again.
