Did the Annunciation School Shooter Fear ‘Good Guys with Guns’?

The mother of Minneapolis church shooter Robin Westman has already hired a criminal defense attorney, and frankly, it’s not a good look. Investigators haven’t said she’s facing charges, but her silence while hiding behind legal counsel sends a message whether she intends it or not. Authorities often talk to the families of mass shooters to try to piece together what happened, and sometimes, as in the case of the Crumbleys in Michigan, those conversations lead to accountability. At minimum, it shows a willingness to help the public understand how someone like Westman spiraled into hatred and violence.

Westman had just gone through a breakup before the massacre, and while that might surface as part of the investigation, it’s highly doubtful it was the cause. School shootings have been committed for far less, but in this case, the rage was already there. The journals, the planning, and the writings dripping with venom show someone consumed by hate long before any romantic split.

One of the more telling details from Westman’s journals was the decision to attack a church because they feared ‘good guys with guns’ might return fire elsewhere. In their words, Annunciation Catholic seemed like a “great choice” because they doubted any parishioners were armed.

Of course, this will be twisted into some kind of gun-nut rallying cry. But the myth of the ‘good guy with a gun’ has never held water. In chaotic active shooter situations, an armed civilian is more likely to add to the body count than stop it. Police themselves often struggle to neutralize shooters quickly. Tossing more untrained or panicked gunfire into the mix doesn’t save lives; it risks more.

What stands out even more is the perspective of a former teacher who remembered Westman as a troubled teen who needed help. She noticed self-harm, she reported it, but nothing came of it. Her plea now is not for more flowers or more vigils, but for urgent investment in mental healthcare for students. She’s right. The warning signs were there, as they so often are, but schools remain underprepared and underfunded when it comes to mental health resources.

And then there’s Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (aka Rat Fuck Jr., aka Lowly Worm), somehow running the Department of Health and Human Services, who decided to jump on this tragedy with his favorite brand of snake oil nonsense. He suggested antidepressants might be to blame for mass shootings. This is vintage RFK Jr.: spout pseudoscience, pretend it’s bold truth-telling, and insult grieving communities in the process. Minnesota Senator Tina Smith was absolutely right to tell him to shut up. Kennedy should be fired, though frankly, he should never have been anywhere near a position of responsibility in the first place.

For the record, antidepressants are not the problem. Guns are the problem. Easy access to firearms that can tear apart classrooms and churches in seconds is the problem. Kennedy’s obsession with painting psychiatric drugs as a root cause isn’t just scientifically baseless; it’s dangerous. It stigmatizes treatment that millions of people desperately need.

Because the truth is that countless people are quietly living with mental illness. Many of them take antidepressants. For many, those medications have been nothing short of lifesaving, a godsend that keeps them here, keeps them functioning, and keeps them tethered to life. To demonize those treatments in the middle of fresh grief is not just wrong, it’s cruel.

Robin Westman didn’t kill because of antidepressants. They killed because of hatred, access to weapons of war, and a society still more interested in making excuses than in preventing the next bloodbath.

(Sources)