n what seems to be a perverse “don’t say transgender problem”, the legacy newscasts went out of their option to point out that the coward who entered into the Annunciation Catholic Church and opened fireplace on an ongoing Mass was in truth a transgender particular person. The networks have been equally circumspect about divulging the shooter’s motives.
The tone was set early on by ABC’s Aaron Katersky, who throughout stay protection virtually made it appear to be the shooter was a Trump supporter:
ABC Information correspondent Aaron Katersky lastly breaks by means of, turning into the primary broadcast community correspondent to inform viewers on-air (not the streaming platforms) concerning the YouTube video posted by the alleged Minneapolis Catholic Church shooter:
“Westman was in a position to depart… pic.twitter.com/QucQviPJhy
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 27, 2025
AARON KATERSKY: 23-year-old Robin Westman was in a position to depart what police referred to as a video manifesto that they are now going by means of to try to set up motive. We have additionally been going by means of it and may let you know there are crude diagrams of the church. There are additionally pictures of the weapons, they usually embody all types of writings, the names of previous mass shooters, criticism of Israel, the identify of President Trump written on the weapons. There are additionally racial slurs, nihilistic statements, all portray the image of a disturbed particular person who carried out this mass taking pictures on the primary week of faculty on the Annunciation Church in Minneapolis.
“The identify of President Trump on the weapons” shouldn’t be even in the identical tonal universe of what the shooter ACTUALLY wrote, which was “Kill Trump.” This misleading description, paired with descriptions of the shooter as a racist antisemite, seeks to create the phantasm of the shooter being a Trump supporter, which couldn’t be farther from the reality.
World Information Tonight kicked off the transgender obfuscation, as correspondent Pierre Thomas
ABC’s Pierre Thomas on the transgender shooter’s YouTube video earlier than the Minneapolis Catholic college taking pictures: “And police are learning a troubling video Westman allegedly posted on YouTube…The video depicts somebody obsessive about violence. In a single chilling second, a suspect is… pic.twitter.com/Lx8hC8oeSv
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 27, 2025
PIERRE THOMAS: And police are learning a troubling video Westman allegedly posted on YouTube, timed for launch after the horror unfolded inside that church.
BRIAN O’HARA: This manifesto appeared to indicate him on the scene and included some disturbing writings.
THOMAS: The video depicts somebody obsessive about violence. In a single chilling second, a suspect is seen driving a knife right into a sketch of church pews. You additionally see a suspect dealing with bullets, magazines, and an arsenal of weapons and there are quite a few references to earlier mass shooters, together with Sandy Hook. The fixation on homicide clear. Homeland Safety Secretary Kristi Noem saying the worlds ‘kill Donald Trump’ have been discovered written on a rifle journal. Tonight, the group in shock.
MICHELLE WICK: Sorry, I am shaking. I am unable to cease. (unint) the shooter is a half-block from the place all of us stay.
THOMAS: That neighbor attempting to make sense of what the killer’s household could be pondering tonight.
WICK: I am unable to think about not solely residing with what their son has executed, but in addition that their son is deceased. I am certain they’re questioning as dad and mom what occurred right here.
THOMAS: We’re additionally studying that Robin Westman was born a male with the identify Robert, however in 2020, recognized as a feminine, and a Minnesota courtroom authorized his identify change to Robin.
If Robert modified his identify to Robin, what does that imply? Why the intentional effort to deemphasize the shooter? The identical applies for Thomas’s descriptions of issues depicted within the manifesto. The video manifesto clearly depicts {a magazine} with “Kill Donald Trump” scrawled on it. Why qualify that with “Kristi Noem stated”, as if it have been rumour?
CBS wasn’t that a lot better. Scott MacFarlane took a quick respite from whining concerning the ongoing federal legislation enforcement operation in Washington, D.C. with the intention to additional obfuscate concerning the identification of the shooter.
CBS’s Scott MacFarlane went into each granular element about January 6 defendants, however can’t provide fundamental truths concerning the transgender shooter who focused the Minneapolis Catholic college:
“As is frequent the case in mass shootings in America, police say this shooter, Rbin… pic.twitter.com/2YdCXTvETY
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 27, 2025
SCOTT MacFARLANE: And Maurice, as is frequent the case in mass shootings in America, police say this shooter, Robern(SIC) Westman, obtained the weapons legally and lately. Three firearms, all of which have been fired, in keeping with police. The 23-year-old Westman, who has no felony file, was a scholar at Annunciation College. Westman’s mom, as you heard, had been an worker of the varsity till 2021. A number of years in the past, Westman sought a authorized change of identify from Robert Westman to Robin Westman. The FBI goes by means of a YouTube video believed to have been posted by Westman, which might converse to the motive for this assault. Investigators are on the lookout for different potential writings, too, and executing search warrants on the residence of the shooter and the properties of the shooter’s dad and mom. Police have described an elaborate plan by Westman to make the assault immediately, together with the usage of 2×4 picket beams to dam and barricade the church door. Westman died by suicide behind the church, in keeping with the police, and the police chief in Minneapolis twice immediately referred to Westman as a coward.
Over at NBC, Maggie Vespa danced the identical dance:
NBC’s Maggie Vespa on ‘Nightly Information’: “In keeping with courtroom paperwork obtained by NBC Information, the shooter was granted a authorized identify change to Robin in 2020. Paperwork saying that Westman identifies as a feminine and desires her identify to mirror the identification. Her mom appeared to… pic.twitter.com/WDw9oq0urp
— Curtis Houck (@CurtisHouck) August 27, 2025
MAGGIE VESPA: In keeping with courtroom paperwork obtained by NBC Information, the shooter was granted a authorized identify change to Robin in 2020. The paperwork saying Westman identifies as a feminine and desires her identify to mirror the identification. Her mom appeared to signal the paperwork. Police say, earlier than finishing up the bloodbath, Robin Westman posted a collection of disturbing movies.
BEN O’HARA: We’re additionally conscious of a manifesto that the shooter had timed to be launched on YouTube. This manifesto confirmed him on the scene and included some disturbing writings
VESPA: One video displaying a handwritten ground plan of a church and a number of other weapons. On one among them, a message threatening to kill President Trump and lots of anti-Semitic slogans and references to the Catholic Church. Police say they haven’t recognized a motive, however are learning these movies.
O’HARA: It has been taken down and our investigators are going by means of that to try to develop a motive from that.
TOM LLAMAS: Maggie joins us now and Maggie, police nonetheless do not know a motive however we’ve got late reporting tonight that there’s a connection between the shooter and that Catholic church?
VESPA: Yeah, tom that is proper. It seems that the shooter’s mom used to work right here. The Church of Annunciation posting on Fb again in 2021, congratulating Mary Grace Westman on her retirement, after 5 years right here. NBC has reached out to her, in addition to different members of the family of the shooter. To date, no response.
Vespa was much less terrible than the others, however equally danced across the problem of the shooter’s transgenderism and the character of his writings.
As additional particulars of the manifesto emerge, notably the parts written in Cyrillic, will probably be clear what sort of individual this was, and what he meant to perform. As for tonight, the legacies have been way more taken with saying as little concerning the shooter as potential, to the detriment of the general public,
