Homeland Security Secretary Krisi Noem on Wednesday said the gunman who preyed on Minneapolis Catholic schoolchildren was a self-proclaimed transgender individual, while FBI Director Kash Patel said the incident will be investigated as domestic terrorism.
Two children were killed and 17 people — 14 of them children — were wounded in an attack on Annunciation Church in Minneapolis on Wednesday. The shooter, who fired through the church’s windows on Annunciation School children within, later killed himself.
“We have confirmation that the shooter at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, MN was a 23 year-old man, claiming to be transgender,” Noem posted on X.
“This deranged monster targeted our most vulnerable: young children praying in their first morning Mass of the school year,” she wrote.
We have confirmation that the shooter at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, MN was a 23 year-old man, claiming to be transgender.
This deranged monster targeted our most vulnerable: young children praying in their first morning Mass of the school year. This deeply sick…
— Secretary Kristi Noem (@Sec_Noem) August 27, 2025
“This deeply sick murderer scrawled the words ‘For the Children’ and ‘Where is your God?’ and ‘Kill Donald Trump’ on a rifle magazine. This level of violence is unthinkable,” Noem continud.
“Our deepest prayers are with the children, parents, families, educators, and Christians everywhere. We mourn with them, we pray for healing, and we will never forget them,” she said.
“The FBI is investigating this shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics,” Patel posted on X.
“There were 2 fatalities, an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old. In addition, 14 children and 3 adults were injured,” he posted.
Updates on the shooting in Minneapolis, Minnesota:
The FBI is investigating this shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics.
There were 2 fatalities, an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old. In addition, 14 children and 3 adults were injured.
— FBI Director Kash Patel (@FBIDirectorKash) August 27, 2025
“The shooter has been identified as Robin Westman, a male born as Robert Westman. The FBI will continue to provide updates on our ongoing investigation with the public as we are able,” Patel said.
According to ABC, Westman changed his name in 2020, with his name change application stating that he “identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.”
According to KARE-TV, Westman’s mother worked at Annunciation School until she retired from there in 2021.
The station said it was believed Westman “attended the school for at least one year and had visited the school in the last week while teachers prepared for the upcoming school year.”
The station said YouTube videos posted to an account linked to Westman about 30 minutes after the mayhem began show a document that appears to be a manifesto.
KARE said the text was in Russian, but a translation makes it apparent Westman planned the attack for weeks.
The station said a May 23 section “allegedly showed Westman describing an obsession with mass shootings, specifically in schools. Westman appeared to reference memories of the obsession dating back to seventh grade, while also revealing conversations about mass shootings with friends at a young age.”
Another bit of video shows a drawing of the church captioned, “Annunciation by memory.”
An Aug. 20 entry talks about visiting the church. “Westman allegedly wrote about the teachers’ training week and how staff were probably receiving active shooter training, allegedly writing, ‘I bet they won’t anticipate an attack in the first week,’” the station reported.
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