A horrific mass shooting at a Catholic church in Minneapolis revealed a chilling aspect: the shooter, Robin Westman, displayed hateful messages directed at India.
On one of the firearms, she had scrawled ‘Nuke India’ alongside a misspelt Russian phrase meaning ‘Kill yourself’, which she showed off in a video posted on social media before the attack on Wednesday.
The tragedy claimed the lives of two children, aged eight and ten, and 17 others were wounded.
Among the dead were three elderly worshippers in their 80s attending the mass, which coincided with the opening of the local church school’s academic year.
Westman, who shot herself after firing through a stained-glass window, had a personal connection to the church.
She had attended the school as a boy named Robert Westman until 2017 before transitioning to a transgender woman and legally changing her name in 2020.
The pre-attack video, later removed at police request but still circulating on social media, revealed further disturbing messages.
These included ‘Kill Donald Trump now’ and hateful slurs against Latinos, African Americans, Jews, and Israel—echoing white supremacist rhetoric.
Officials Confirm Video’s Authenticity and Investigation Status
South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem confirmed the authenticity of the video, posting on X that the shooter had scrawled phrases such as ‘For the Children’ and ‘Where is your God?’ on her rifle magazine.
FBI Director Kash Patel announced that the investigation was treating the incident as domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.
This marks the second attack by a transgender individual on a Christian institution in the US in two years.
In 2023, Aiden Hale, a female-to-male transgender individual, carried out a deadly attack on a Christian school in Nashville, Tennessee, killing three children and three adults before police shot and killed him.
The Minneapolis shooting has sent shockwaves across the US and internationally.
The Vatican expressed condolences through a telegram to the local archbishop, with Pope Francis offering blessings as a pledge of peace, fortitude, and consolation in the Lord Jesus.
President Donald Trump called for prayers for the victims on his platform Truth Social and ordered flags at half-mast on all government buildings and diplomatic missions until Sunday as a mark of respect.
The attack comes amid a surge of violence in Minneapolis, with police reporting four shootings since Tuesday, including one near a local high school.
Five people have died and 25 were injured in these incidents.
In June, a gunman killed former Democratic State House Speaker Melissa Hortman and her husband and seriously wounded a state senator and his wife in a Minneapolis suburb.
Despite its international criticism of religious violence abroad, the US has its own troubling record.
The US Commission on International Religious Freedom and the State Department have condemned attacks on Catholic institutions worldwide, yet the US Catholic Bishops’ Conference reports at least 390 attacks on Christian sites in America since 2020.
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