When police named 23-year-old Robin Westman as the attacker who opened fire on nearly 200 children and parishioners inside the Annunciation Catholic Church in the US city of Minneapolis on Wednesday morning, investigators already had disturbing material to review. Hours before the shooting, at least two videos were uploaded to a YouTube channel titled Robin W. Both have since been removed by site administrators, but their contents are viral on social media.
A Chilling Opening
One of the videos, running approximately 11 minutes, begins with an image instantly recognisable to television audiences — a black-and-white sketch of Heisenberg, the alter ego of Walter White from Breaking Bad. The face stares directly into the camera. A low, unsettling sound-described by those who viewed it as an “animalistic mewl” — plays in the background.
The camera then pans slowly across a table to reveal what appears to be a handwritten suicide letter. The framing lingers on the page long enough for viewers to read words of apology directed at Westman’s family. The text says sorry to siblings and parents for “forever tainting the rest of [their] lives.” The note does not attempt to justify the planned violence, though it makes reference to depression and suicidal thoughts.
Weapons On Display
As the video continues, the focus shifts from the letter to a display of weapons. Ten rifle magazines are shown laid out, all loaded with ammunition. Each is marked with texts scrawled in white marker. Some target-specific figures — one carried the phrase “Kill Donald Trump”, another read “nuke India”. Others included anti-Black, antisemitic, anti-Hispanic, and anti-religious statements, including the phrase “Where is your God?”
The camera pans deliberately across multiple firearms placed on the same table. Several on social media pointed to similarities between the inscriptions and markings seen in earlier attacks, particularly the 2019 Christchurch shooting in New Zealand and the 2022 Buffalo supermarket shooting. The names of past mass killers were also visible, written across several magazines.
At one point, Westman laughs audibly before adjusting the frame back toward the suicide note.
The Journal In Code
In another video, roughly 20 minutes long, Westman sits with a thick journal and flips through pages. The writing is English, but phonetically in Cyrillic script. The content of the text has not been fully translated publicly, but investigators confirmed it contained references to previous shootings and grievances against multiple groups.
Both videos make repeated nods to earlier mass killings, suggesting Westman saw the attack as part of a broader lineage of violence.
A Drawing Of The Target
At one point, Westman holds up what appears to be a crude drawing of a building. Two rectangular shapes, resembling windows, are pointed out on the page. Westman then takes a long knife and stabs repeatedly at the illustration, focusing on the window spaces. Investigators now believe this represented Annunciation Catholic Church, where the attack was carried out hours later.
The Shooting
Armed with a rifle, shotgun and pistol, Westman arrived at the church just before 8:30 am. Wednesday. Police say dozens of rounds were fired through the side windows directly into pews filled with children marking the first week of the school year. Two children, aged eight and ten, were killed. Fourteen other pupils and three parishioners in their eighties were wounded.
Court records reveal Westman was born Robert Paul Westman and had their name legally changed in 2020 after a petition by their mother, Mary Westman, who said her child identified as female. Authorities have referred to Westman as transgender, though officials stressed that gender identity was not relevant to the motive for the attack.
Mary Westman had previously worked at the Annunciation church until her retirement in 2021. She had also donated to the school, appearing on its honour roll of contributors. In 2013, the Westman parents divorced; Robin was the youngest of three children.
Employment records show Westman worked briefly at a Minnesota branch of the RISE medical marijuana dispensary earlier this year but was not employed at the time of the shooting.