Photographs that parishioners and commentators say show bullet holes in a statue of the Holy Family outside Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis have reignited debate over the motive behind last month’s mass shooting and how news organizations have described the attacker.
The shooter, identified in multiple reports as 23‑year‑old Robin Westman, opened fire during a back‑to‑school Mass, authorities have said, killing two children and wounding nearly 20 other people. Officials have said the attacker fired more than 100 rounds from multiple weapons brought to the scene and later died of an apparent self‑inflicted wound.
Images obtained by parishioners and reported in commentary pieces show three apparent bullet holes in a statue that depicts Saint Joseph, the Virgin Mary and the Christ child. The photos show two perforations in the area near the Virgin Mary’s chest and a third through what parishioners described as Saint Joseph’s staff. A Minneapolis police spokesman confirmed the department was aware of images and said the investigation remains ongoing, declining to comment specifically on the statue. The spokesman also said no responding officers fired their weapons that day.
That confirmation, parishioners and some commentators said, makes it likely the rounds came from the attacker’s weapons. Parishioners interviewed after the shooting said they have felt growing hostility in recent years from activists and neighbors over Catholic teachings on abortion and sexuality. They noted that, before the attack, transgender flags had been displayed in houses near the church, and they said a trans flag appeared five days after the attack during a vigil held for victims.
How the shooting has been characterized in the press has become part of the discussion. An opinion article published by the New York Post and authored by Christopher F. Rufo and Ryan Thorpe argued that the attack was driven by anti‑Catholic hatred and accused mainstream media outlets of downplaying that motive. The piece cited the photographs of the damaged statue, markings on weapons and excerpts from a manifesto attributed to the attacker.
The attackers’ writings, as reported by those commentators, reportedly included statements that the author was "tired of being trans" and expressed regret about having been "brainwashed by the movement" and experimenting with gender. The New York Post commentary also said the attacker had drawn an inverted cross on firearms and had pinned a photograph of Christ on a paper target in his room.
Other news organizations covering the attack have described parts of the attacker’s identity and expressed uncertainty about motive. The New York Times reported that it may never be possible to know the attacker’s full motive and used feminine pronouns in its coverage of Westman. At a press conference the day after the shooting, acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson noted that the attacker had expressed hatred toward multiple groups, comments that some observers said complicated a single‑motive interpretation.
Local reporting in the Minneapolis Star‑Tribune included coverage of parishioners’ concerns about backlash against transgender people, which some church members said shifted focus away from the victims. The differing emphases among outlets have prompted calls from parishioners and conservative commentators for clearer recognition of anti‑religious intent in the attack.
Experts and civil‑rights advocates cautioned against drawing firm causal links between ideology and individual acts of violence without corroborating evidence from the investigation. Several past mass‑shooting incidents have involved perpetrators who at some point identified as transgender or nonbinary, and those cases have been cited in opinion pieces arguing for broader societal implications. News organizations and analysts who catalog such incidents note that motivations often involve a mix of personal grievance, mental health issues and other factors, and that researchers and prosecutors generally rely on a body of evidence to establish motive.
Minneapolis law enforcement officials have said the investigation remains active. Authorities have not issued a formal determination that the attack was a hate crime, and they have asked that the public allow investigators to collect and examine evidence, including writings and items recovered from the scene. The police spokesman’s confirmation that no responding officers fired their weapons was cited by parishioners and commentators as one factor suggesting the external statue damage was caused by the attacker’s rounds, but officials stressed that a full accounting must await the conclusion of ballistic and forensic analysis.
The shooting has prompted vigils and public debate in Minneapolis and nationally about how motives in mass‑violence cases are reported and interpreted. Parishioners at Annunciation have said they will continue services and community activities while seeking clarity from investigators. Commentators who view the attack as rooted in anti‑Catholic animus have urged greater attention to religious‑based violence, while other observers have called for cautious, evidence‑based reporting until investigators complete their work.
As the probe continues, local and federal authorities said they would release findings when available. Meanwhile, the community remains focused on the victims: families of the dead and wounded, and congregants who survived an attack that has raised questions about safety, motive and the way those elements are covered in the media.