Minneapolis Shooter Had ‘Manifesto’ that Addressed Motive, and Had Praised Hitler as a Child: Friend

Authorities have identified Robin Westman, 23, as the gunman responsible for a deadly shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school that left two children dead and 18 others injured.

According to Minneapolis police Chief Brian O’Hara, Westman opened fire on the morning of Aug. 27 at Annunciation Catholic School and church. Among the victims were two children, ages 8 and 10. Fifteen of the 18 wounded were also children.

Westman died by suicide after turning one of his weapons on himself. He had been carrying a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol during the attack.

Investigators believe Westman deliberately scheduled the release of a manifesto on YouTube to coincide with the shooting. The channel, now removed from the platform, is under review by authorities.

CNN, citing law enforcement sources, reported that the channel contained disturbing videos. One showed a person flipping through a notebook, while others displayed firearms scrawled with antisemitic and racist slurs, including the phrase “6 million wasn’t enough,” a reference to the Holocaust.

Another magazine reportedly bore the names of infamous mass shooters, including Adam Lanza, who carried out the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre.

The same notebook included passages in which the author admitted being “morbidly obsessed” with Lanza. It contained both English text and entries written in Cyrillic characters with scattered Russian words. One page allegedly featured a hand-drawn diagram of Annunciation Church, where Westman himself graduated in 2017.

In the notebook, Westman wrote, according to CNN: “In regards to my motivation behind the attack I can’t really put my finger on a specific purpose. It definitely wouldn’t be for racism or white supremacy. I don’t want to do it to spread a message. I do it to please myself. I do it because I am sick.”

Local outlet KSTP interviewed a woman who said she had briefly been friends with Westman in grade school in St. Paul.

“I knew that something was off, but I was a kid; how was I to know what to do?” Josefina Sanchez told the outlet, adding that Westman “would put up his hand and praise Hitler.”

KARE 11 reported that Westman’s mother worked at Annunciation until her retirement in 2021.

Chief O’Hara confirmed that Westman fired from outside the church, hitting both students and worshippers. Despite the injuries, officials said those who were wounded are expected to survive.