A shooter opened fire with a rifle on Wednesday through the windows of a Catholic church in Minneapolis and struck children celebrating Mass during the first week of school, killing two and wounding 17 others, including 14 kids.
The gunman who opened fire on Wednesday on school children attending a church service in the US city of Minneapolis, killing two students, had weapons inscribed with hate slogans such as “Kill Donald Trump,” “Nuke India,” and “Burn Israel,”ย according to American far-right political activist Laura Loomer, who shared pictures and videos.
The attacker, 23-year-old Robin Westman, opened fire with three weapons: a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol. According to police, the incident took place at about 8.30 am at Annunciation Catholic Church, which has a school for children in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade. Children had gathered to observe an all-school Mass, which is an annual tradition for the new academic year, which began Monday. Brian O’Hara, Minneapolis police chief, said that Westman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
‘Nuke India,’ ‘Kill Trump’
Apart from “NUKE INDIA”, “Suck On This!”, “Mashallah”, “ISRAEL MUST FALL”, “Like a Phoenix we rise from the ash”, “Born to Shit, Forced to Wipe”, “6 million wasn’t enough”, and “Kill Donald Trump” were also written on the weapons.
“Where is your God?” and “for the children” were also written on the magazines.
A disturbing video of the Minneapolis school shooter, Robin Westman, displaying his cache of weapons has surfaced online and quickly gone viral. Authorities said Westman uploaded multiple clips ahead of the attack, showcasing his guns, ammunition, and a manifesto, which are now under police investigation.ย
In the videos, he is seen flaunting a semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun, and magazines scrawled with chilling messages. One clip shows his gun magazines inscribed with the names of infamous mass shooters, including Adam Lanza. According to the New York Post, the videos were released just hours before Westman carried out the deadly shooting.
US Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the authenticity of the video, saying the “deeply sick murderer scrawled” the words ‘For the Children’ and ‘Where is your God? and ‘kill Donald Trump’ on the rifle magazine.
“This level of violence is unthinkable,” she wrote on X.
Robert Westman was Robin Westman
According to the New York Post, Westman changed his name from Robert to Robin in 2020 as he identified himself as a female. He applied to change his birth name in Dakota County, Minn., when he was 17 years old, according to court documents. That name change was granted in January 2020.
However, five years later, he seemed to have backed away from that identity. “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 donโt feel like a man. I really like my outfit. I look pretty, smart, and modest. I think I want to wear something like this for my shooting,” Westman wrote in a chilling post.
Federal officials referred to Westman as transgender, and the mayor decried hatred being directed at โour transgender community.” Westman’s gender identity is not clear. In 2020, a judge approved a petition, signed by Westman’s mother, asking for a name change from Robert to Robin, saying the petitioner “identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.”
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