The Minneapolis school shooter had broken up with a romantic partner before carrying out the horrific attack, it has emerged.
Robin Westman, who identifies as a transgender woman, had been involved with a ‘significant’ partner, but the relationship recently ended, the killer’s father told police. The gender of Westman’s former ‘romantic partner’ is unclear.
The killer had been staying with a friend in the aftermath of the break-up, according to a search warrant obtained by FOX 9.
Westman’s neighbors at the Lynwood Commons Apartments complex, a roughly 10 minute drive away from Annunciation Church, claimed the killer appeared to have a female roommate.
It is unclear if the shooter was living at the complex with the friend or the former partner.
Westman on Wednesday fired 116 rifle rounds through stained-glass windows at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis while school children celebrated Mass. The mass shooting killed two students, ages eight and 10, and left 18 others injured.
Investigators recovered hundreds of pieces of evidence from the church and three residences associated with the 23-year-old shooter.
They found hate-filled writings from the suspect and detailed plans for the massacre, but no clear motive for the attack on the church the shooter once attended.
Westman had a ‘deranged fascination’ with mass killings and suggested in the manifesto that there was not one singular motive for the attack.
Robin Westman (pictured) recently ‘broke up with a significant and/or romantic partner’, the killer’s father told police
Memorials are constructed outside Annunciation Catholic Church where Westman shot and killed two children and injured 18 other people
Westman’s neighbors say the killer appeared to live a normal life and prior to the mass shooting had not exhibited any suspicious behavior.
One neighbor claimed Westman ‘didn’t stand out’ and appeared to be a ‘normal young person’, Fox News reports.
‘[Westman] looked like any other 20-something-year-old. Came into the building, ordered fast food, went to work, came home. [Westman] had friends. Nothing stood out,’ the resident told the outlet.
Another neighbor added that if Westman done ‘anything beyond sketchy’ that someone in the complex would have ‘called long before now’.
Westman was previously known as Robert before undergoing a legal name change name in 2020.
According to court papers filed in Dakota County, Minnesota, Westman wanted to take on the name Robin to reflect that Westman identified ‘as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification’.
But in a handwritten manifesto shared by the shooter in a YouTube video before opening fire, Westman appeared to question the decision to transition.
Westman complained about being ‘tired of being trans’ and said she had been ‘brainwashed’.
Teachers said that Westman was a lonely child at school who did not seem to have any friends, and had behavior problems that often saw Mary (seen together) called into the school
Robin Westman was previously known as Robert before undergoing a legal name change name in 2020. Robin is pictured in a graduation photograph
‘I only keep [the long hair] because it is pretty much my last shred of being trans. I am tired of being trans, I wish I never brain-washed myself,’ the killer wrote in a scrawled cryptic message.
‘I can’t cut my hair now as it would be an embarrassing defeat, and it might be a concerning change of character that could get me reported.
‘It just always gets in my way. I will probably chop it on the day of the attack.’
Westman also wrote about struggling with how to identify, adding: ‘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 don’t feel like a man.’
Under Minnesota law, changing legal name is far more straightforward than if an individual wishes to change their official birth certificate.
Westman only had to petition for the name change, but to alter a birth certificate, the killer would need a doctor’s letter showing ‘medical certification of appropriate clinical treatment for gender transition.’
It is not known if the killer ever tried to do this, and it is unclear if doctors ever prescribed medication for Westman’s gender transition.
It is also unknown if Westman had ever taken any gender-affirming medications.
Law enforcement raided the Minneapolis apartment complex where Westman was reportedly living. Neighbors at the complex say the killer appeared to have a female roommate
Westman killed two children and injured 18 worshippers during Annunciation Catholic School’s start-of-year mass.
Armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, Westman approached the side of the church opened fire through the building’s stained glass windows just before 8.30am.
Westman was found dead behind the church from a self-inflicted gunshot.
The shooter was wearing black ‘tactical’ gear and had at least two long guns with her, according to the warrants reviewed by FOX 9.
Police say Westman legally purchased the weapons, had no arrest history and acted alone.
Officials have recovered hundreds of pieces of evidence from the church and three associated residences in the area.
Authorities also were scouring the videos, now removed from public view, and other online content.
In response to a request for any records of police contact with the shooter in the last decade, the Eagan Police Department, southwest of Minneapolis, sent two heavily redacted documents.
The first from 2018 is listed as a mental health call for a welfare check for a child with parents Mary Grace Westman and James Westman, but the case narrative was redacted.
A second report from 2016 involving a criminal complaint was entirely redacted.
This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.