A district court gave approval for the shooter's name to be changed from Robert to Robin in 2020, acknowledging that Westman identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification. According to the New York Post, which translated Russian Cyrillic writing in the shooter's journal, Westman expressed regret about being transgender ahead of the attack. I only keep [the long hair] because it is pretty much my last shred of being trans. I am tired of being trans, I wish I never brain-washed myself, wrote Westman, according to the Post.
During the mass, a gunman approached on the outside, on the side of the building and began firing a rifle through the church windows, towards the children sitting in the pews at the mass. He struck children and worshippers that were inside the building. The shooter was armed with a rifle, a shotgun and a pistol. This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshipping.
