August 28, Thursday: Westman, who police say opened fire during a school Mass, had chilling messages scrawled across their weapons and ammunition. New York Post cited a viral video circulating online that claims to show Westman displaying gun magazines and ammunition with phrases such as ‘Nuke India’, ‘Kill Donald Trump’, ‘Israel must fall’ and ‘for the children.’ One video allegedly shows Westman holding a magazine marked with ‘Where is your God?’
Ei Samay English has not yet been independently verified the authenticity of the footage.
Notably, Court records show Westman was born Robert Paul Westman, and in 2020 legally changed their name upon a petition of their mother, Mary Westman. Officials said that Westman was transgender, but investigators have stressed that gender identity is not thought to be related to a motive in the attack.
Westman’s writings show admiration for mass shooters and violent threats
Mary Westman herself had close ties to the church community, having worked at Annunciation parish until her retirement in 2021. She also appeared on the school’s honor roll of donors. Robin was the youngest of three siblings; their parents divorced in 2013.
Interestingly, in one clip, the names of gunmen such as Adam Lanza appear etched onto a magazine. Westman even wrote in a journal, “I have deep fascination with one man in particular: Adam Lanza,” referencing the perpetrator of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that killed 26 people, including 20 children.
Other writings reveal strong antisemitic views, such as ‘Israel must fall’, ‘burn Israel’, and ‘psycho killer’ were allegedly found on Westman’s firearms. CNN reported that diary entries included statements like, “If I carry out a racially motivated attack, it would be most likely against filthy Zionist jews,” while referring to Jewish people as “entitled.”
The manifesto tied to Westman is said to contain diagrams of weapons and diary entries written in both English and Russian. In those writings, Westman described fantasies about killing children and admiration for other mass shooters.
