People gather at a vigil in Lynnhurst Park in Minneapolis after a shooting at Annunciation Church

Yesterday, it happened again. On Wednesday morning, Robin Westman stood outside the walls of the Church of the Annunciation and began shooting through the stained glass windows into a church filled with children and their teachers gathered for Mass to open the new school year. Perhaps some were praying that the school year would go well. Perhaps some were praying that they would do well in the new school year. Whatever they were praying for, their prayers were interrupted by the entry of evil into the church in the form of bullets from a gun held by Robin Westman, a 23 year old man who suffered from serious mental health issues and decided, for reasons we don’t know yet, to manifest his anger and anxiety by killing children at a Catholic School. Two children were killed, an 8 and a 10 year old, and 17 people injured, including 14 children and two people in their 80’s. Thanks be to God, reports are that everyone who was injured is expected to survive. Westman died of a self-inflicted gunshot.

Westman had attended Annunciation School during his elementary years, graduating in 2017. His mother worked at Annunciation School from 2016 to 2021. Did Westman have a bad experience at Annunciation? Was his mother treated poorly as an employee during her years of working there, at least in his mind? A Facebook page at her retirement from the school lauds her work and her warmth with people. A report also says Westman’s father owns a house not far from the school, though not saying outright whether Westman’s parents are divorced, or giving any indication of how involved his father was in his life, other than a Facebook post offering him a happy 18th birthday. Both parents signed an application requesting that Westman’s name be legally changed from “Robert” to “Robin” in 2020, when Westman was 17 years old. The judge wrote on the application: “Minor child identifies as female and wants her name to reflect that identification.” The application was approved.

Just hours before the shooting, Westman posted disturbing videos on social media where he discusses the advantages of Annunciation as the target for his desire to “die and kill many people.” He showed an outline of the Annunciation school and stabbed the outline. He also made anti-semitic and racist statements, and wrote on one of his guns, “kill Donald Trump.” He also wrote the names of Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook shooter, and other mass shooters on his guns. Clearly, Westman had serious mental health issues. The police revealed that Westman was known to them, but didn’t say why. In 2018, Westman was the subject of a police stop at their home. The police identified the matter as a mental health issue, but went into no further details and declared the matter closed, so no further action was taken. Westman also left a note for his family which expresses his love for them, his knowledge of their love for him, and a deep empathy and sorrow for what he knows his actions will mean for their lives. He ends the section of the note to his parents simply with, “I’m sorry.”

Westman was obviously critically mentally ill. Who knew that he was? Certainly his parents knew. They both acknowledged and supported his being transgender. But what does it mean to be transgender? It means that one has serious mental illness. So, there’s a big red flag. But people hesitate or choose not to take action because we are not allowed to acknowledge the mental illness manifested by a man thinking he is a woman in our society without being labeled a bigot, even by the professionals we turn to. A man thinking he is a woman is not normal. If Westman had showed no other signs of mental illness prior to his asking his parents to sign his application to change his name to one he felt was consistent with his identity as a female, that alone should have triggered concern and action on the part of the parents. But it seems the parents had embraced gender ideology, so the fact that their male child thought he was female didn’t raise concerns. Surely, though, there was more than that. I can’t find any information on whether or not Westman received any mental health therapy. But unless his parents are both complete dolts, he must have received some. The boy thought that he was a girl. His social media posts are filled with hatred, thoughts of suicide, adoration for mass shooters, and thoughts and plans for killing others, along with the racism and anti-semitism. Did no one read these posts? Did his parents never read his social media posts? Did he never express these ideas outside of social media, in conversation with his parents or friends? I find that truly hard to believe. Why do people who know someone, or know of someone via the internet, who is obviously mentally ill, and expressing hate toward others as well as plans to harm others, why do they not say anything.? His room was filled with weapons and ordnance. Did his parents not know this? Did it raise no concerns?

The bottom line is: Robin Westman was seriously mentally ill. If his parents never took him to see a professional therapist, they were negligent in that. If his possession of so many weapons did not raise a red flag, they are dolts. If his thinking that he is a girl didn’t raise a red flag, then they have sadly and stupidly embraced gender ideology. There were so many red flags of mental illness that Westman displayed. Yet I can’t find any reports that he participated in therapy. I simply can’t believe that he didn’t.

Later that same day, Mayor Jacob Frey of Minneapolic and Governor Tim Walz spoke about the horror of the shooting. I thought both spoke well. His Excellency, Archbishop Bernard Hebda of Minneapolis, also spoke and spoke well. He shared a letter he received on behalf of Pope Leo XIV, expressing the Holy Father’s sadness and bestowing his Apostolic Blessing on the community, as well as his prayers that those who died may be received by our Lord. Abp Hebda spoke of “prayers of the feet.” What he means by that is the ancient Catholic principle that we are not only obliged to offer our prayers for those in need, or for any particular cause for which we are praying, but also to act in such a way that we might be the instruments by which God answers our prayers. St. Thomas More said, “Give us, good Lord, the grace to work for the things we pray for.” What we pray for is that shootings like this never happen again. So, we ask the Lord for His grace to work toward that end.

What does it mean to work for the end of school shootings? I certainly don’t know everything on what could be done. Mayor Frey said, “Don’t just say this ia about ‘thoughts and prayers’ right now. These kids were literally praying.” Gov Walz said, “Keep us in your thoughts and prayers, but also keep us in the thoughts for action. Keep us in the ideas that we can work together.” Democrats are calling for more gun control. They’re right. Why can a man with a record of mental health issues legally purchase guns in Minnesota? Given Westman’s manifestations of mental illness – his transgenderism, his possession of so many weapons and ordnance, and especially his social media posts – surely his parents were concerned and initiated therapy with a professional. There should have been a record of that. But there is no ban on purchasing guns or ammunition for those who have a record of mental illness, unless one has been involuntarily hospitalized or admitted to a mental health facility. Since Westman had never been involuntarily admitted to a pysch hospital or a psych facility, there was no ban on his purchasing weapons legally in Minnesota, or any other state, because he had no criminal record.

When Mayor Frey and Governor Walz talk about taking action to stop these horrors from happening. I’m all good with that. But Frey is the mayor of Minneapolis. Walz is the governor or Minnesota. These are precisely the people voters put in office to make the kinds of changes needed to stop these horrors. Minnesota is perfectly able to create legislation that would ban anyone from purchasing weapons if they have a record of mental health issues. Yes, the NRA and other gun enthusiasts would oppose it and challenge it in court. But maybe Minnesota would win. It’s worth a try. So, I’m fine with Frey and Walz talking about taking action. But they are precisely the people who are in a position to take action. Let’s see if they do. Abp Hebda could lead a populist movement pressuring Frey and Walz to act. Let’s see if he does.

There is nothing happy about this story. But there is one thing, at least, that lifts our hearts. It is the account of a student at Annunciation named Victor. When the shooting started, Victor immediately jumped on top of his friend, Weston Halsne, to protect him from the bullets tearing through the church. Weston said that “Victor saved me.” Victor laid on top of Weston. Weston was not hit, but Victor was shot in the back. Happily, Victor will survive. Reports don’t say how old Victor is, but Victor was sitting in the same pew as Weston, who is in fifth grade. So, it’s reasonable to assume that Victor is also in fifth grade. Which means that Victor is no older than 11, maybe 10, since it’s the beginning of the school year. Ten years old, and he already has the love, courage, and the will to give his life for his friend. Jesus said, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends” (Jn 15:13). Victor likely had heard those words of Jesus at his Catholic school. He heard them, and when it mattered, he lived them.

Give us the courage and love, Lord, to do the same.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.