Gun rights influencer Brandon Herrera called the Minneapolis school shooter a ‘demon’ in response to a video the shooter posted that praised Herrera and claimed the two met at a firearms conference.
Robin Westman – who opened fire on school children in a Minneapolis church, killing two injuring 17 more – left behind a YouTube channel with several disturbing videos.
In one such video, Westman is fiddling with firearm magazines while discussing meeting Herrera, a popular YouTuber under the account ‘TheAKGuy’ who also ran for Congress in 2024, in Las Vegas.
‘Yeah, I met Brandon Herrera at SHOT Show last year and he and I had a conversation, a brief conversation, we agreed on a lot of things, so y’all should vote for Brandon Herrera for president,’ Westman said, before adding ‘f*** those kids.’
The SHOT Show stands for ‘Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show,’ an annual firearms convention.
Herrera, who had previously denounced the shooting and offered thoughts and prayers, angrily condemned Westman in a post to social media.
‘I’m still physically sickened and angry about this clearly hate motivated attack on innocent children, and disgusted that my name came out of this demon’s mouth,’ he wrote.
‘I meet thousands of people every year at SHOT Show in Las Vegas in meet-and-greets and such, but I don’t remember this individual at all, nor does anyone I was there with. That being said, I’m happy to answer any questions from Law Enforcement if it would be helpful.’
‘I’m also coordinating with friends in law enforcement to see how my community and I can best support those families affected by this hateful and senseless act.’
The owners of The SHOT Show, The National Shooting Sports Foundation, could also not find evidence that Westman was in attendance.
‘NSSF has verified that the murderer’s name is not among any of the attendees at SHOT Show in 2024, or any year prior,’ spokesperson Mark Oliva told Fox News Digital.
Oliva added that only registered guests are allowed into the show, which is not open to the public.
Herrera has over four million followers on his YouTube channel where he proudly makes off color jokes and stages shocking recreations of the assassination of US presidents and MLK and pries open a fake brain while covered in blood.
He also said of the shooter: ‘My heart goes out to the family of those affected, but to the shooter, I have one thing to say in response. F*** you. Burn in hell.’
The San Antonio resident decided to run for office because of a gun control vote cast by Republican incumbent Tony Gonzales in the aftermath of the Uvalde massacre. Gonzales won by a narrow margin.
The shooter who killed two children and injured 17 others in a mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school’s church has now been identified as a 23-year-old transgender woman whose mom used to work at the school and who harbored a disdain for President Donald Trump.
Robin Westman shot through stained glass windows at children sitting praying on the pews inside Annunciation Catholic School’s church at about 8.30am local time Wednesday.
Westman, a transgender woman who changed her name from Robert in 2019, was armed with three guns – a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol, police said. Westman fired all three weapons, which police said were purchased legally, during the attack.
Two children aged eight and 10 were killed and at least 17 other victims – 14 children and three 80-year-old parishioners – were injured.
The shooter then turned the gun on herself. Westman’s body was found inside the church.
Westman, who was identified by police sources to multiple outlets, did not have a criminal history and the motive remains a mystery.
However, a chilling video shared on a now-deleted YouTube account appears to reveal the killer’s sick manifesto.
In the 20-minute-long video, the 23-year-old showed off her kill kit of ammunition, magazines and firearms and revealed her twisted obsession with other school shooters, dislike of Trump and mockery of the church.
Westman also showed the camera pages of handwritten notes in a final letter to her family and friends.
In the letter, Westman said she believed she had 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 went on to write that she wanted ‘to go out on my own means’.
‘Unfortunately, due to my depression, anger and twisted mid, 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 cartridges, 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.’
Other unhinged ramblings on his stash of magazines and guns revealed his hatred for Donald Trump and mockery of the church.
‘Take this all of you, and eat!’, ‘Do you believe in God?’ and ‘Where is your God?’, read some of the anti-church messages.
‘Kill Donald Trump,’ read another.
Some of the scribbles also appeared to have been written in Russian.
The video also showed large pieces of wood with ‘No escape’ written across them.
Police said at least two of the church doors appeared to have been blocked by two by fours before the shooting, suggesting the shooter wanted to trap the people inside.
At another point, the video showed what appeared to be a drawing of the school’s church.
It then showed a hand stabbing the drawing repeatedly as the voice behind the camera said: ‘I’m going to kill myself.’
In a press conference Wednesday afternoon, police confirmed the YouTube manifesto belonged to the killer.
Searches have been executed at homes connected to the shooter.
Police said that more guns were found at the properties.
It has since emerged that Westman’s mother was an employee at the school she targeted, before she retired in 2021.
Court records seen by the Daily Mail reveal Westman had previously been known as Robert, having petitioned to have her name changed in 2019.
According to court papers filed in Dakota County, Minnesota, Westman asked the court to change her name to Robin.
Westman had her mother Mary sign the application for a name change as she was still a minor at the time.
The petition was later approved in January of 2020, adding that Westman: ‘identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.’
Court receipts indicate her family paid $311 in fees to have her name changed to Robin.
Police said the shooter parked her vehicle near the school before the attack.
Westman then fired ’50 to 100 shots’ as students and staff were sat in pews and ‘killed two kids,’ a heartbroken parent who attended the mass told The Star Tribune.
It is unclear if the shooter fired any of the weapons from inside the church or carried out the entire mass shooting outside before going inside.