NBC News reportedly issued a correction on Friday acknowledging that it had misgendered Robin Westman, the gunman in last week’s deadly church shooting in Minneapolis that killed two children and wounded more than a dozen others.
The outlet updated its reporting to state that Westman, who identified as a transgender woman, “used female pronouns.”
The correction notice, added to an article written by four NBC reporters, read: “CORRECTION (Aug. 29, 2025, 8:05 a.m. ET): A previous version of this article used the wrong pronoun for the shooter. She used female pronouns.”
Westman, born Robert Westman, legally changed names in 2020 after a district court recognized that the shooter “identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.”
The case has drawn scrutiny not only for the scale of the violence but also for Westman’s troubled writings, which reveal a deep conflict about gender identity.
According to the New York Post, which translated Russian Cyrillic writing from Westman’s personal journal, the shooter expressed regret about undergoing a transgender identity.
“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,” Westman reportedly wrote. The journal continued: “I regret being trans… I wish I was a girl I just know I cannot achieve that body with the technology we have today. I also can’t afford that.”
The writings suggest Westman’s anguish went beyond gender identity, veering into self-loathing and alienation. In one passage, Westman described being drawn to anthropomorphic animals, or “furries,” as a way of escaping personal dissatisfaction. “I like feeling sexy and cute but my face never matches how I feel. I hate my face,” Westman wrote. “Maybe that’s why I like furries so much. You can give yourself a new body and face.”
The shooter’s journals, paired with the correction issued by NBC, have added another layer to a tragedy already marked by senseless violence.
Critics have noted that mainstream coverage of the attack has at times focused more on pronoun usage than on the underlying causes of Westman’s breakdown, a point conservatives argue underscores misplaced priorities in the media.
Westman’s rampage at a Minneapolis church left two children dead and over a dozen congregants injured before ending in a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
Authorities have yet to determine what triggered the attack, though the personal writings point to long-standing struggles with identity, mental health, and isolation.
The episode highlights ongoing debates about how the press should handle reporting on violent perpetrators who identify as transgender.
For many readers, NBC’s insistence on issuing a correction about pronouns — in the aftermath of an attack that devastated families — raised uncomfortable questions about whether ideological sensitivities are being placed above the gravity of the crime.
In the end, Westman’s life ended as it was lived: mired in turmoil, marked by alienation, and leaving behind a trail of devastation.
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