We are generally fortunate if it takes even hours for the media to start speculating on what the motive behind a mass shooting is, even in the absence of evidence.
In the case of the Minneapolis Annunciation Catholic Church school shooting on Wednesday, even in the presence of evidence — the now-dead shooter telling us precisely why he did it and putting all kinds of ideological slogans on his guns — the media wanted us to stop speculating. Why? Because it was a transgender male who identified as a female who was an anti-God, anti-Semitic, anti-Christian, anti-Trump radical who said he did it because he was mentally ill.
Take The New York Times, who said the shooter’s “motive is a mystery” and criticized those who pointed out the facts of the case:
On social media, some conservative activists have seized on the shooter’s gender identity to broadly portray transgender people as violent or mentally ill. The police did not provide any motive for the attack, but Ms. Westman’s extensive social media history was a contradictory catalog of anger and grievance. …
The right-wing uproar over Ms. Westman’s gender identity echoed the politicized reaction to a 2023 mass shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, which was carried out by a former student whom the police said was transgender.
Seized! Uproar! It’s like there’s no correlation at all between radical transgender ideology and violence. Which we will no doubt be forcefully reminded of if it turns out that Snehal Ansh Srivastava is guilty of murder.
Who is Srivastava? He is a man who, according to online accounts, goes by the name of “Sasha Shakur.” Those accounts say that he’s been arrested in connection with the Massachusetts murder of the father of a 6-year-old who was coming home from walking his child to school.
Yet, police refuse to release the name of the suspect, according to The Post Millennial, despite WCVB stating that the individual was in custody and “known to police.”
Shrewsbury Police Chief Kevin Anderson said that they received a 911 call from a man who told them he was being attacked by another man while walking through the park.
“The gentleman who was shot was returning from (walking his 6-year-old child) to school when he interacted with the man on the bridge. It appeared that the man was doing some type of spray painting. He took a picture of the man, and that started the altercation,” Worcester County District Attorney Joe Early Jr. said.
“While officers were responding, dispatch advised that they could actually hear shots on the 911 call. When officers arrived, they located a victim, provided medical attention, and that victim was transported to a local hospital where, tragically, he died of his injuries,” Anderson said.
The 57-year-old man, whose name was not released, was pronounced dead. Meanwhile, police raided the home of the suspect later that morning.
From WCVB:
At about 11:45 a.m., police arrested a man outside a home at 29 Edgewater Ave. A few minutes later, members of a SWAT team with a K-9 were seen entering the home. The house is covered with graffiti with the words “Ganga Gardens,” “Free Palestine,” “Free Congo,” “BLM” and “GLM” painted on its exterior walls.
The 26-year-old suspect’s name was not released, but he was described as “known to police.” It was unclear what charges he would face, Early and Anderson said.
Throughout the morning, law enforcement officers and vehicles — including SWAT teams and Massachusetts State Police troopers — were seen gathered near a parking area for the Jordan Pond Walking Trail, about 1/3 of a mile away from where the man was taken into custody. Yellow police tape was blocking entry to the trail, and areas along the water were also marked with police tape. Graffiti was visible on the walking trail.
Libs of TikTok was one of several online outlets who revealed the suspect as “Sasha Shakur,” showing dramatic video of his alleged arrest, along with video of him saying that he uses the women’s locker room at the local spa because he identifies as a woman.
Sasha Shakur, who was just arrested for allegedly shooting and kiIIing a man in Massachusetts, posted a video admitting that he uses the women’s locker room at a local spa because he identifies as a woman.
This alleged killer was invading female restrooms.
TRANS VIOLENCE IS AN… https://t.co/aWfKNjuEEI pic.twitter.com/nLGf3fo4kL
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) August 28, 2025
The Post Millennial identified Srivastava as the suspect. Independent journalist Andy Ngo said on his Substack he was “able to confirm Srivastava’s real name from records associated with the house where the suspect was arrested,” but that “Shrewsbury Police and the Worcester County Sheriff’s Office have so far refused to release the name of the suspect. I contacted the sheriff’s office and left a message.”
On one social media account Ngo was able to discover, Shakur allegedly described himself as “a Black Indian Two-Spirit Trans Being raising funds for myself and my community.”
While this is unconfirmed, it’s worth noting that there’s one reason it would be unconfirmable: If it were accurate and if it were to occur the day after another incident of radical violence associated with a transgender male, it could destroy the left’s carefully constructed narrative.
Or if the New York Times were reporting on it, they’d probably say that the reason that Shrewsbury and Worcester County authorities won’t release the name “is a mystery.” One of the two.
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