The mother of the transgender killer who murdered two children in a mass shooting in Minneapolis is ‘completely distraught’ and obtained a lawyer after not cooperating with police.
Mary Grace Westman, the mother of shooter Robin Westman, 23, was a former employee at the Annunciation Catholic Church where the horror unfolded Wednesday morning.
The mother has reportedly sought legal counsel out of an abundance of caution in the aftermath of the tragedy.
‘She is completely distraught about the situation and has no culpability but is seeking an attorney to deal with calls like this,’ Attorney Ryan Garry told Fox News.
Police revealed in a press conference Thursday, they haven’t heard anything from Westman’s mom.
‘We have not been successful in talking to the shooter’s mother,’ Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said. The police chief did not provide any further details.
The shooter, who previously went by Robert until changing names in 2019 to reflect ‘identifying as a woman’, killed two children and injured 18 other people in the shooting at the school church.
Westman was a former student at the school and graduated in 2017, according to a yearbook.
The killer also likely attended services at the church where her mom worked until her retirement in 2021.
Mary Westman, the mother of shooter Robin Westman, 23, used to work at the Annunciation Church where the horror unfolded on Wednesday morning. She is pictured inside the church at her retirement in 2021
The youngest of three children whose parents divorced in 2013, Robin Westman (seen front right with her family) lived in Hastings, Minnesota, before Mary and Jim split (second from left)
The mass shooter’s immediate family has made no public comments since Westman was unmasked as the killer who targeted children while they sat praying in the church pews.
Local outlets reported that the former church employee was in disbelief when she learned her child was the killer.
Neighbors at Mary Westman’s home on a quiet street in Minneapolis – less than a mile from Annunciation Catholic Church – told the New York Post they had always seemed like a ‘great family’.
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Stephen Jeglosky told the outlet his ‘jaw dropped’ when he saw the news, revealing he last spoke to the family around two years ago when they were celebrating a graduation.
Jeglosky recalled that the Westman family stopped him to ask him to take some photos of their celebrations, and they ‘seemed like a great family’.
‘There were kids running around, parents drinking, music playing. Their little Chihuahua nipped me in the ankle,’ he added.
‘They gave me a beer, and I went on my way. I guess you never know who somebody is.’
Westman was the youngest of three to Mary and her husband Jim.
The family lived in Hastings, Minnesota, before the parents divorced in 2013, according to court records.
It is not clear what Robin’s father Jim did for a living.
Robin Westman killed two children and wounded 18 other victims in the horror mass shooting
Westman also attended the school he targeted in the mass shooting, graduating from there in 2017
Westman’s mother Mary was a signatory to the killer’s application in 2019, to change from Robert to Robin.
In the filing, she wrote that the move was to reflect that her child was ‘[identifying] as a woman’.
But, according to a former employee at Annunciation Catholic School, Mary struggled with her child’s transition.
Mary had confided in the employee that Westman was transgender and identified as a girl and admitted: ‘I don’t know how I feel about this.’
‘I think she was struggling with her Catholic faith… She didn’t know how she felt, but it weighed heavily on her,’ the employee said.
Over the years, Mary had also reportedly voiced concerns over Westman’s behavior at school and social issues.
Westman didn’t have any friends in eighth grade and was disruptive in class, often being sent to the principal’s office, the employee said.
Now, investigators are probing the shooter’s motive for the attack.
In a chilling insight into the mass shooter’s mindset, Westman shared a manifesto in a video on YouTube that included cryptic handwritten scrawlings and tributes to other killers.
Community members gather at the scene of the mass shooting where two children were killed
In the rambling notes, the transgender shooter complained about being ‘tired of being trans’ and said she had been ‘brainwashed’.
‘I only keep [the long hair] because it is pretty much my last shred of being trans. I am tired of being trans, I wish I never brain-washed myself,’ the killer wrote.
‘I can’t cut my hair now as it would be an embarrassing defeat, and it might be a concerning change of character that could get me reported.
‘It just always gets in my way. I will probably chop it on the day of the attack.’
Westman also wrote about struggling with how to identify, adding: ‘I don’t want to dress girly all the time but I guess sometimes I really like it. I know I am not a woman but I definitely don’t feel like a man.’
In another 20-minute video, Westman showed off a kill-kit of ammunition, magazines and firearms, while revealing a twisted obsession with school shooters, along with a dislike of President Donald Trump, and mockery of the Church.
Westman also showed the camera pages of handwritten notes in a final letter to family and friends.
In the letter, Westman claimed to have cancer caused by a vaping habit.
‘I think I am dying of cancer. It’s a tragic end as it’s entirely self inflicted. I did this to myself as I cannot control myself and have been destroying my body through vaping and other means,’ the shooter wrote.
Westman’s twisted manifesto (pictured) has also been unearthed in the aftermath of the deadly shooting, offering some clues into what went through the alleged killer’s mind
Westman shared a manifesto (pictured) during a video posted via their since-deleted YouTube account that appeared to show the layout of the church where the shooting unfolded
Westman went on to write about wanting ‘to go out on my own means’.
‘Unfortunately, due to my depression, anger and twisted mind, I want to fulfill a final act that has been in the back of my head for years,’ Westman wrote.
The note was signed with the name ‘Robin M Westman, 2002-2025’ and what appeared to be a bird drawing.
As well as the warped letter, the video also showed a stash of gun magazines, with white writing scrawled on them.
Several school shooters’ names including ‘Lanza’ for Sandy Hook mass shooter Adam Lanza was seen on some of the cartridges.
One of the other cartridges was labeled: ‘For the children.’