Robin Westman was DISCIPLINED at work weeks before Minneapolis shooting, as mom’s distraught reaction is revealed: Live updates

Annunciation Catholic School shooter Robin Westman had been planning an act of violence for a long time, a former co-worker has claimed.

Westman, 23, had been working at a cannabis dispensary in Eagan, about 17 miles from Minneapolis, until August 16 this year.

The shooter voluntarily left her role at Rise, with a colleague alleging the decision came after a series of disciplinary action.

The co-worker, speaking to the Star Tribune on the condition of anonymity, said Westman had been disciplined for tardiness and skipping work.

The employee also alleged Westman made comments during her employment that suggested ‘recent events have been the catalyst for this thing [she] has been planning for a long time’.

A spokesperson for Rise’s parent company Green Thumb Industries confirmed Westman had worked at the dispensary for several months this year, but was not an employee at the time of Wednesday’s horrific shooting.

‘We are deeply saddened by the tragic events that occurred today in Minnesota,’ the spokesperson said, adding that their ‘deepest condolences go out to the victims, their families and the entire community impacted by this senseless act of violence’.

Haunting 911 audio has captured the unfolding horror as first responders rushed to the scene of Wednesday’s mass shooting at a Catholic school’s church.

‘Minneapolis has a possible active shooter,’ one of the first responders said, as others were advised to bring as much medical equipment to the shooting as possible.

Another responder relayed over the radio, first revealed by FOX 9: ‘Bring all the gauze that you have.’

As hospitals were told to prepare for a mass casualty event, the dispatch audio heard one responder say there were ‘two DOAs inside the church’ – meaning two would be ‘dead on arrival’.

‘We have… two patients with gunshot wounds to their heads in front. There’s also a critical patient in the rear of the church,’ another responder said over the radio.

It’s unclear when classes will resume at Annunciation Catholic School after the deadly shooting attack during students’ first week of class.

Principal Matthew DeBoer and Pastor Dennis Zehren mourned the loss of two ‘beloved students’ killed in Wednesday’s attack and called for prayers in an update to the school and Annunciation Church community.

The message said the school and church were working with ‘a myriad of professional agencies’ and that it would take time for the community to get back on its feet.

‘As we process and navigate this unfathomable time together, we will be in touch this weekend regarding when school will resume.

‘Investigators and others are still on campus doing their essential work and we expect this to continue for some time,’ the statement read.

School officials will also announce available support services in coming days, according to the Facebook post, which stressed unity as students, parishoners and their families endure ‘an impossible situation together.’

The message concluded: ‘No words can capture what we have gone through, what we are going through, and what we will go through in the coming days and weeks.
But we will navigate this – together.’

Just hours after Robin Westman opened fire through the windows of Annunciation Catholic School, hundreds crowded inside a nearby school’s gym, clutching one another and wiping away tears during a vigil alongside Gov. Tim Walz and clergy members.

Speaking to a silent crowd crammed shoulder-to-shoulder Wednesday night, while hundreds more waited outside, Archbishop Bernard Hebda described the students trying to shield their classmates as the gunfire erupted.

‘In the midst of that there was courage, there was bravery, but most especially there was love,’ he said at the Academy of Holy Angels, about 2 miles away from the site of the massacre.

The Rev. Dennis Zehren was to give a sermon to the congregation that Wednesday. At the vigil held later that night, his face and eyes were red against his white vestments.

When asked what he planned to tell the students on their first week of school, emotion choked his voice.

At the vigil, Archbishop Bernard Hebda addressed some 2,000 people, where psalms were sung and the silences burrowed deep in the wide room.

‘I can understand why someone could resonate with the Psalmist’s question: “Why, oh God, have you forgotten me?”‘ Hebda said. ‘The example of Mary, a mother and a disciple who knew great suffering in her own life, should give each of us courage and hope.’

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, 23, fired all three weapons, which police said were purchased legally, during the attack.

In a deranged video posted on YouTube, the shooter explained how she was ‘feeling good’ about committing a ‘devastating tragedy’ at Annunciation Catholic School.

Westman also showed a rifle magazine labeled ‘For the children, hahahahahahaha.’

Westman, previously known as Robert, 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’s 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, it adds that Westman: ‘Identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.’

But Robin appeared to have some confusion about her gender.

‘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,’ she wrote.

‘I really like my outfit. I look pretty, smart and modest. I think I want to wear something like this for my shooting.’

The Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey denounced transphobia after the revelations about Westman’s identity.

Minneapolis is in mourning today after Robin Westman opened fire on praying students and staff yesterday.

Police are continuing their investigation into the fatal massacre as community members rally together to support the victims and their families.

Prayer services and a news briefing are expected to take place throughout the day as the city seeks a path forward.

Here are the events scheduled for Thursday:

• Prayer service of peace and healing: Cathedral of St. Paul, 12pm CT (1pm ET)
• News briefing: Minneapolis City Hall, 1pm CT (2pm ET) – The briefing will be attended by state lawmakers, gun violence activists and clergy members.
• Interfaith service: Basilica of St. Mary, 5.30pm CT (5.30pm ET)

Robin Westman, 23, posted a suicide note to a now-deleted YouTube page just hours before shooting through stained glass windows at children sitting on the pews inside Annunciation Catholic School’s church on Wednesday morning.

The shooter explained in a note the reason for carrying out the attack in Minneapolis, while apologizing to her family and friends – and offered one final request.

‘Pray for the victims and their families,’ Westman concluded her rambling note, despite having a rifle magazine labeled ‘For the children, hahahahahahaha.’

Earlier in the letter, Westman wrote about struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts for years – which were apparently aggravated by the belief she was dying of cancer from vaping.

Robin Westman, 23, then a boy known as ‘Robert’, wrote an ode to death titled ‘But Not The End’ outlining concerns death would come with ‘regrets that my name not be known for something more’, according to the Star Tribune.

The chilling note came from Westman’s time as a pupil at St. Thomas Academy, a Catholic all-boys school in Mendota Heights, Minneapolis, where students are referred to as cadets, wear uniform and are trained in military skills.

It was one of several schools Westman attended during a seemingly turbulent childhood that included going to one school for just three months, watching a parental divorce and struggling with his gender identity.

The FBI has described Westman’s attack as a hate crime against Catholics, while police are still investigating the motive.

Pictured: Robin Westman in her 2021 high school graduation photograph

Minnesota shooter Robin Westman’s mother appeared distraught over the horrific massacre at Annunciation Catholic School.

Westman, whose mother Mary formerly worked at the school, was broken down in tears when the Star Tribune called her in wake of the tragedy.

The newspaper approached Mary just a few hours after the rampage and appeared ‘distraught’ as she cried on the phone.

She said at the time that she did not know if her daughter was the shooter.

Mary provided ‘wonderful hospitality’ at the school before her 2021 retirement and has five other children.

Westman, previously been known as Robert, petitioned to have her name changed in 2019 because she ‘identifies as a female’. According to court papers filed in Dakota County, Minnesota, Westman asked the court to change her name to Robin.

Mary signed the application for a name change as she was still a minor at the time.

Pictured: Mary and Robert Westman