The attack has thrust Minnesota’s failure to fund security for nonpublic schools into the spotlight, following years of unheeded pleas from the state’s Catholic bishops.
Newsroom (28/08/2025, Gaudium Press ) A horrific shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis on Aug. 27 left two students, aged 10 and 8, dead and 14 other students and three adults injured during an all-school Mass. The gunman, Robin Westman, a 28-year-old who was born Robert and identified as a transgender woman, died by suicide at the scene. The attack has thrust Minnesota’s failure to fund security for nonpublic schools into the spotlight, following years of unheeded pleas from the state’s Catholic bishops.
The Minnesota Catholic Conference (MCC), representing the state’s six dioceses, had urged lawmakers in 2022 and 2023 to extend security funding to nonpublic schools, citing deadly shootings in Uvalde, Texas, and Nashville, Tennessee. Those requests, which sought resources for secure entries, school resource officers, and emergency training, were ignored as related bills stalled in the Legislature, despite a $17.6 billion state surplus in 2023.
“We need to ensure that all our schools have the resources to respond to and prevent these attacks,” wrote Jason Adkins, MCC’s executive director, in an April 2023 letter to Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan, co-signed by Tim Benz of a Minnesota independent school organization. The letter stressed that nonpublic school students deserve equal protection as their public-school counterparts.
A Missed Opportunity?
The Annunciation tragedy has intensified questions about why Minnesota lawmakers failed to act. Gov. Walz’s office, responding to inquiries, emphasized his commitment to student safety, noting he has “signed into law millions in funding for school safety.” However, the National Catholic Register, a sister outlet of Catholic News Agency, confirmed none of this funding applied to nonpublic schools.
“We remain committed to working with anyone willing to stop gun violence and keep our students safe,” a Walz spokesman said, noting regular meetings with MCC. Critics, however, point to other priorities, such as Walz’s 2023 push to establish Minnesota as a “trans sanctuary” state, as a possible distraction from bipartisan-supported security measures.
Republican state Sen. Julia Coleman, a Catholic, told the Register the shooting has prompted reflection on her “responsibility as an elected official.” “Our children—our most precious assets—must be protected,” she said. “School security funding must be a priority.”
Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis called for prayers and an end to gun violence. “Our community is rightfully outraged at such horrific acts perpetrated against the vulnerable and innocent,” he said. “They are far too commonplace.”
A Hate-Fueled Attack
Westman’s attack was preceded by a YouTube video, now removed, revealing a deep-seated anti-Christian motive intertwined with Satanic, antisemitic, and racist rhetoric. Identifying as a transgender woman, Westman mocked an image of Jesus Christ on a shooting target, inscribed weapons with phrases like “Where’s your [expletive] God now?” and “take this all of you and eat,” a mockery of the Eucharistic prayer. Symbols such as an inverted pentagram and “666” adorned his rifles and magazines.
Westman also glorified mass shooters, referencing Anders Breivik, Brenton Tarrant, Adam Lanza, and others, while scrawling antisemitic messages like “6 million wasn’t enough” and “Jew gas” on a smoke grenade. Additional slurs targeted Hispanic, Black, and Muslim communities, alongside threats against President Donald Trump.
While Westman’s rhetoric mirrored neo-Nazi and Satanic ideologies, no direct evidence currently ties him to the online networks linked to the Abundant Life Christian School shooter, Natalie Rupnow, whom he referenced. A Wisconsin Watch and ProPublica report noted Rupnow’s ties to communities glorifying violence and mass shootings.
Unanswered Calls for Action
The MCC’s efforts to secure nonpublic school funding followed the 2019 “Safe Schools” legislation, which excluded private institutions. In 2022, the bishops urged Walz to call a special session for a bill providing $44 per student for security costs across all schools. Despite bipartisan support, the measure stalled. In 2023, MCC sought inclusion in a $50 million security grant program, calling the exclusion of nonpublic schools “a discriminatory act.” Again, no action followed.
Adkins told The Daily Wire that the bishops raised these concerns directly with Walz, a former public school teacher. “He communicated his belief that people should feel safe in their schools and places of worship,” Adkins said. “But the appropriation was not created.”
The MCC has also backed broader gun violence prevention, including “red flag” laws and background checks, but shifted focus in 2024 and 2025 to issues like religious exemptions in state legislation.
A State in Mourning
The Annunciation shooting, carried out by a transgender individual with a clear anti-Christian agenda, has left Minnesota grappling with grief and urgent questions about school safety. As the state mourns, the bishops’ long-ignored calls for equitable security funding demand renewed attention to protect all students, regardless of where they learn.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
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