Minneapolis Church Shooter's Former Art Teacher Said She Saw Evidence Of Self-harm

An creation coach who had nan Annunciation Catholic Church shooter successful her people successful 2017 said she saw signs of self-harm connected her then-student.

The teacher, Sarah Reely, said Robin Westman was successful her people for a twelvemonth astatine an all-boys prep schoolhouse successful Minnesota, wherever she noticed grounds of self-harm connected nan student’s limb and reported it.

“Self harm is either a outcry for help, an denotation of aforesaid hate, aliases both. But it’s ever motion thing is wrong,” Reely wrote successful a Facebook station connected Thursday.

Westman, 23, opened occurrence astatine Annunciation Catholic Church successful Minneapolis during greeting Mass connected Wednesday, killing 2 children and injuring 18 different worshippers.

Reely said successful her station that she saw a photograph of Westman, a transgender woman, and instantly recognized her. The coach said she knew astatine nan clip Westman was “a kid who needed help.”

“She was decidedly odd, was really into furries and overseas artwork and said immoderate overseas things, but wasn’t convulsive towards others to my knowledge,” Reely wrote. “Being overseas isn’t a reddish emblem — I was an overseas kid myself and person ever had a bosom for nan overseas kids.”

Reely said Westman did not fresh successful astatine nan school, “as 1 mightiness ideate would hap to a queer kid successful a blimpish environment,” and that she “intentionally made a constituent to build a relationship,” pinch her.

Westman yet transferred schools, Reely said, but she ever hoped that her erstwhile student was OK.

“I americium NOT posting this to build sympathy for a murderer aliases spot blasted connected immoderate 1 personification aliases entity for failing to extremity this,” Reely wrote. “I americium posting this to punctual group that it’s a snowball effect of aggregate strategy failures astatine a nationalist level, that each murderer was erstwhile a kid successful someones schoolroom who needed help, and that this rumor is truthful overmuch deeper and much analyzable than we want to admit.”

Reely declined to speak to NBC News astir Westman.

On Wednesday, Westman fired a firearm done nan broadside windows of Annunciation Catholic School’s church, aiming astatine children sitting successful nan pews, conscionable earlier 8:30 a.m.

Westman was a student astatine Annunciation, and her mother, Mary Grace Westman, had erstwhile worked astatine nan school.

The shooter was recovered dormant astatine nan rear of nan religion pinch an evident self-inflicted gunshot coiled to nan head, according to hunt warrants. She was recovered dressed successful achromatic “tactical” cogwheel pinch astatine slightest 2 firearms nearby, constabulary said.

Officials recovered astir 120 ammunition casings from 3 different guns nan shooter used, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. O’Hara said Westman had a “fascination” pinch wide shootings, and acting U.S. Attorney for Minnesota Joseph Thompson said she “wanted to watch children suffer.”

O’Hara said Thursday that authorities do not person accusation indicating that Westman suffered from intelligence unwellness and that, different than a postulation ticket, she did not person a constabulary record. But a heavy redacted constabulary study from 2018 shows that constabulary were called to a townhouse wherever Westman lived pinch her mother. Mental wellness was noted arsenic nan logic for nan call.

Minnesota has a reddish emblem rule that went into effect successful January 2024, allowing family members and others to petition nan courts to person guns removed from a personification they judge poses a threat to themselves aliases nan community. But it does not look immoderate alarms were sounded arsenic Westman amassed an arsenal that included a rifle, a pistol and a shotgun utilized successful nan onslaught connected nan church.

The investigation into nan shooting is ongoing.

If you aliases personification you cognize is successful crisis, telephone aliases matter 988 to scope nan Suicide and Crisis Lifeline aliases chat unrecorded astatine 988lifeline.org. You tin besides sojourn SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for further support.