Daijiworld Media Network - New York
New York, Aug 28: A transgender mass shooter who opened fire at a Catholic church in Minneapolis not only left behind a trail of death and horror, but also revealed disturbing hate messages, including a chilling threat directed at India.
Before the attack on Wednesday, the shooter — identified by police as 25-year-old Robin Westman — uploaded a video to social media showcasing the weapons used in the massacre. Among them was a gun inscribed with “Nuke India” and another with a poorly spelled Russian phrase meaning “Kill yourself.”
The shooter killed two children aged eight and ten, along with three elderly churchgoers in their 80s, and injured 17 others. The victims were attending a mass marking the beginning of the academic year at the church’s school. Westman reportedly fired through a stained-glass window before turning the weapon on herself.
Authorities confirmed that Westman had once been a student at the same church school, graduating eighth grade in 2017 as Robert Westman, before transitioning and legally changing her name in 2020.
Federal and state agencies are treating the attack as both a hate crime and an act of domestic terrorism. Homeland Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed the authenticity of the shooter’s video, noting that among the messages scrawled on her weapons were: “For the Children,” “Where is your God?”, and “Kill Donald Trump.”
FBI Director Kash Patel stated that the attack specifically targeted the Catholic community and is being investigated accordingly. The shooter also expressed hatred for multiple groups — including Latinos, African Americans, Jews, Israel, and political figures.
The disturbing reference to India was first noted by IANS during a review of the shooter’s now-removed social media video. While the original uploads have been taken down at the request of authorities, copies continue to circulate online.
This marks the second attack by a transgender individual on a Christian institution in the U.S. in just two years. In 2023, Aiden Hale — a transgender man — killed six people, including three children, at a Christian school in Nashville before being shot dead by police.
The latest shooting has sent shockwaves across the country. Pope Leo expressed condolences through a message to the local archbishop, offering “blessings of peace and consolation.”
Former President Donald Trump called the incident a “senseless act of violence” and ordered flags on federal buildings and U.S. embassies worldwide to fly at half-mast until Sunday. He also urged citizens to join him in prayer for the victims.
The tragedy adds to Minneapolis’s growing wave of gun violence. Police reported it was the fourth shooting since Tuesday in the area, including one near a high school. In total, at least five people have been killed and 25 injured in recent days.
In June, former Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband were fatally shot in a Minneapolis suburb, and a state senator and his wife were seriously wounded in the same incident.
Critics have pointed out the irony of the U.S. government’s frequent condemnation of religious violence abroad while facing a troubling record of attacks on its own religious institutions. According to the U.S. Catholic Bishops’ Conference, there have been at least 390 attacks on Catholic sites across the country since 2020.