The horror at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis has left the city shaken. A young gunman opened fire during morning Mass, killing two children and wounding 18 others, most of them kids. Now more details are coming out about the family of the shooter, Robin Westman, a 23-year-old who once attended the same school.
One fact now confirmed is about Robin’s mother. Her name is Mary Grace Westman. For 5 years, she worked as a secretary at Annunciation Church. Parish members described her as kind and welcoming. When she retired in 2021, the church honored her in a Facebook post and thanked her for her hospitality and friendship. That small piece of information has now become part of the much bigger and darker story.
Robin’s father is James Allen Westman. He and Mary Grace divorced in 2013 after 25 years of marriage. Public records show that James owns a home in south Minneapolis, located less than a mile from Annunciation Church and School. Neighbors described him as a friendly man often seen outside working on cars and motorcycles with his children. He appeared to be an ordinary parent raising his kids in the neighborhood.
Robin was the youngest of three siblings and had also been a student at Annunciation for a short time. Officials confirmed the family were members of the church. According to investigators, Robin carried deep anger and had a desire to hurt children.
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Police said Robin died from a self-inflicted gunshot in the school parking lot shortly after officers arrived. Investigators later found disturbing notebooks and videos. The writings showed a dark obsession with past school shootings and hateful views toward Jews and minorities. On one gun, Robin had written the name Robert Bowers, the man who killed 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue in 2018.
The journals revealed Robin’s own conflict. On one page, large letters read, “I’m so sorry.” In another entry Robin wrote, “I don’t want to do it to spread a message. I do it to please myself. I do it because I am sick.” These words gave investigators a grim look into the shooter’s mind, filled with hatred, despair, and self-destruction.
Police also believe Robin may have uploaded a video manifesto to YouTube shortly before the attack. The footage, now removed, showed several guns laid out on a bed with hateful messages written on them. Some targeted Jewish people, Israel, and even President Donald Trump.
On the morning of the shooting, chaos unfolded at the Westman home in the nearby suburb of Richland. Neighbors saw police with rifles surround the house as a helicopter circled overhead. Officers led Robin’s father and stepmother away while investigators searched for clues. One neighbor said the scene was “surreal.”
The FBI is now treating the massacre as domestic terrorism. The weapons used—a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol—were all legally purchased. Investigators are still studying the notebooks and online videos to piece together Robin’s motive.
Featured image via Political Tribune Gallery
