'Disturbing': 5 things to know about suspected Minneapolis mass shooter
More details were emerging on Wednesday afternoon about the suspected mass shooter who attacked the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Wednesday morning.
Here are five things to know about the suspect.
1. The name of the shooter is Robin Westman.
The suspect was said to be in their early 20s, according to reports. Westman's mother worked at the school, and the suspect shot themselves in the parking lot of the school.
2. Westman left behind a lot of videos and writing that are being described as "disturbing."
Several writings that have been seen also talk about suicidal fantasies. Among the photos of Westman being confirmed by reporters are ammunition that was labeled with whom the shooter intended to use it on. It includes one reading "for the children," another said, "Where is your God?" Another said "6 Million was not enough," a reference to the 6 million jews killed during the Holocaust. Finally, one threat to the president was written, "Kill Donald Trump RIP & TEAR," the ammunition clip read. Waco and McVeigh were also written directly on a gun. Timothy McVeigh was the anti-government bomber of the Oklahoma City federal building. He was radicalized in part due to the Waco cult standoff.
Another photo shows Westman drawing a layout of a church in their notebook.
Tom Winter with NBC News cited information from the FBI's Behavioral Health Unit that described seeing this pattern before.
"The common theme is, if I am hurting, then somebody else has to hurt, too. And for the rest of us, it's an extremely selfish way of their beliefs. And so that's the type of materials that we're seeing here," said Winter.
3. Police say Westman wasn't on the radar, but an ex-FBI agent disagrees
CNN's chief law enforcement and intelligence analyst John Miller said that there was no "extensive police record" and claimed Westman wasn't on their radar. Online notes to friends and family mentioned the pain the suspect was living with, and that Westman didn't want to live in pain anymore. Westman knew their actions would upset their friends and family, and that the suspect intended to take their own life, said Miller.
Retired FBI Special Agent Katherine Schweit noted that police may not have had them on their radar, but someone did.
Speaking to MSNBC, she explained that "there is no question that this person was on the radar of people in the shooter's environment. ... Because everybody is on somebody's radar. Just because they're not law enforcement isn't particularly familiar with them, [it] doesn't mean that the people that they work with and interact with every day, whether it's their neighbors or whether it's somebody they actually work with or somebody who is trying to get them assistance. It's something that we know, there were people who saw this degradation of this person's mental health."
4. Westman advocated using violence to protect LGBTQ equality.
On the notebook that was obtained, Westman had a sticker saying "protect equality at all costs" with an automatic weapon over a pride flag, indicating the suspect was prepared to use violence in support of their cause.
5. Possible links to Columbine
There was also a sticker for the international industrial band KMFDM from Hamburg. KMFDM was a favorite among the shooters of the Columbine High School massacre in 1999. The Colorado shooters cited the band's lyrics.
It's unclear if Westman liked the band due to the music or due to the links to other mass shooters. The band itself, however, is known for its opposition to violence and the lyrics stand against "statement against war, oppression, fascism and violence against others," the band said.
YouTube videos from Westman have been pulled by the company, but were captured by some before they were gone.
See some clips in the videos below or at the link here.
- YouTube youtu.be
- YouTube www.youtube.com
- YouTube youtu.be