An attacker opened fire at Annunciation School during a morning back-to-school mass, killing two children and wounding 17 others. Teachers shielded students and were praised for heroic actions. Mayor Jacob Frey urged compassion and unity and warned against vilifying trans or other marginalized communities. Authorities identified the shooter as 23-year-old Robin Westman, a child of a former parish employee, and reported Westman applied to change her name as a teenager. The FBI is investigating the assault as domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics. The Human Rights Campaign warned against scapegoating and called the incident devastating and preventable amid repeated K-12 shootings and blocked gun reforms.
Authorities identified the shooter as 23-year-old Robin Westman, the child of a former parish employee. FBI Director Kash Patel said the agency is investigating the assault "as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics." According to court documents reviewed by local NBC affiliate KARE, Westman applied to change her name when she was 17. That request was granted in January 2020, the station reports.
The Human Rights Campaign echoed that warning, stressing that compassion must not give way to scapegoating. HRC National Press Secretary Brandon Wolf, who survived the 2016 Pulse nightclub shooting, said the tragedy was both devastating and preventable. He pointed to the nearly 60 shootings at K-12 schools in 2025 alone and argued that lawmakers have consistently blocked lifesaving gun reforms.
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