Minneapolis Shooter’s Mother Not Speaking To Police

Authored by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times (emphasis ours),

The mother of the man who killed two children at a Minneapolis church and school and left 18 other people wounded is not speaking to authorities, the city’s police chief said on Aug. 28.

“We have not been successful in talking to the shooter’s mother yet at this time,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told a briefing.

The shooter, who killed himself after firing more than 100 rounds during Mass into Annunciation Church and School on Aug. 27, has been identified as Robin Westman, a male who identified as female.

Westman previously attended the school and has attended Mass there, officials said.

Mary Grace Westman, the mother, worked at the parish in the past, O’Hara said.

The church, in a 2021 Facebook post that it has since deleted, posted a picture of Mary Westman and said that it had honored her as she was retiring after working there for five years.

“She has provided such wonderful hospitality, friendship and compassion to all who gathered,” the post stated.

Ryan Garry, a defense attorney, said he has been retained by Mary Westman.

“She is completely distraught about the situation and has no culpability but is seeking an attorney to deal with calls like this,” Garry told Fox News.

Garry did not respond to a request for more information by publication time.

O’Hara said that law enforcement has conducted dozens of interviews with others, including relatives, friends, and associates of Robin Westman.

Authorities have also carried out search warrants at three residences in or near Minneapolis that are connected to the shooter. They’re not sure yet at which residence he was staying immediately prior to the shooting.

There is no sign yet of an event that triggered the shooting, they said.

‘Hatred’

Evidence gathered so far, including writings allegedly left behind by Robin Westman, shows that the shooter “demonstrate[d] hatred towards many different individuals and different groups of people, and he fantasized about the plans of other mass shooters,” according to O’Hara.

Those groups include black people, Christians, and Jews, Joseph Thompson, the acting U.S. attorney for Minnesota, told reporters.

The writings have not been made public.

Thompson also confirmed that there was alleged evidence of hatred toward President Donald Trump.

Federal officials previously said that Westman had allegedly written several phrases on a rifle magazine, including “For the Children” and “Kill Donald Trump.”

“More than anything, the shooter wanted to kill children, defenseless children,” Thompson said.

“The shooter was obsessed with the idea of killing children.

“The shooter saw the attack as a way to target our most vulnerable among us while they were at their most vulnerable, at school and at church.

“I won’t dignify the shooter’s words by repeating them. They are horrific and vile, but in short, the shooter wanted to watch children suffer.”

Update on Injured

Officials originally said 19 people were shot, with two children killed.

An additional child was added to the tally of wounded individuals. Officials said that the child was transported to a hospital via private vehicle, so they had not been aware of the injury.

The two children who died were aged 8 and 10.

Of the 18 wounded, 15 are children between the ages of 6 and 15, O’Hara said. Three others are adults in their 80s.

Some of the wounded remain hospitalized. Injuries range from graze wounds to serious and life-threatening injuries, the police chief said.

Officials also said they found 116 rifle rounds at the scene and three shotgun shells. They have said the shooter was armed with three guns.

The third, a handgun, appeared to have malfunctioned when Robin Westman tried loading it, officials said.