The FBI is looking for the mother of the Minnesota gunman who killed two children, saying she has refused to help with the investigation.
Federal agents went to an apartment in East Naples, Florida, on Wednesday that belongs to Mary Grace Westman, the mother of Robin Westman, who opened fire at the Annunciation Church in Minneapolis.
Local news video showed three plain-clothes FBI agents knocking on the door of the building and calling out for “Miss Westman.” They later left without speaking to anyone. Vehicles from the Collier County Sheriff’s Office were also seen near the complex, according to the MailOnline.
Ms. Westman’s current location is unknown. Public records show she also owns a property in Minneapolis, just a few miles from the church, but she appears to have left it.
“We have not been successful in talking to the shooter’s mother,” Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said at a press conference on Thursday. “There continue to be efforts made to get that done.”
Westman, 23, was identified by police as the attacker. He shot and killed two children — Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10 — during the Wednesday morning attack. He used a rifle, shotgun, and pistol before killing himself in the church parking lot.
Another 15 children and three parishioners in their eighties were injured, but officials say they are expected to survive.
Police want to speak with Ms. Westman, who worked at the Annunciation Church School until her retirement four years ago, to better understand her son’s motive. Minneapolis authorities later said they had been in contact with her by Friday afternoon.
According to a translation by The Telegraph, Westman wrote a manifesto in Cyrillic characters. In it, he claimed he had considered targeting Donald Trump, Elon Musk, or an unnamed business leader. He also wrote that his family would face “hatred and criticism,” but that “many others would view my actions as heroic and necessary.”
His father, James Westman, reportedly told police that Robin had recently gone through a breakup and was staying with a friend at the time of the attack.
Fox News reported that Ms. Westman, 67, has hired criminal defense lawyer Ryan Garry. He said she is “completely distraught about the situation” and “has no culpability,” but wanted a lawyer to handle calls from authorities.
Public records also show she approved her son’s legal name change from Robert to Robin in 2020, when he was 17 years old.
A woman who lives next door to Ms. Westman in Florida told local media she was shocked by the events. She described Ms. Westman as a “pillar of the community” who has been very helpful to neighbors in need.
