Minneapolis school shooter went through recent breakup before deadly attack on Catholic school: warrant

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The Minneapolis Catholic school shooter Robin Westman recently went through a breakup and was living with an older friend, according to one of several search warrants police have obtained in the wake of a deadly attack on Wednesday's morning Mass.

Westman most recently lived in an apartment in Richfield, according to a search warrant, but the killer's father told police that the 23-year-old had just gone through a breakup and was staying with a friend in nearby St. Louis Park.

Police also searched Westman's father's house in Minneapolis, where they seized a tactical vest, two computer drives and "misc documents," according to the warrant return.

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Westman has been identified as the one who opened fire Wednesday morning, killing two children, ages 8 and 10, and injuring 18 other worshipers, including more than a dozen other kids from the school.

Police found Westman dead of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head, wearing black "tactical" gear and carrying at least two long guns, according to the warrant. The van Westman used in the attack belonged to James Westman, the killer's father.

The elder Westman told police about the breakup.

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Westman was born Robert Paul Westman and underwent a legal name change in 2019, according to court documents, becoming Robin M. Westman.

"Minor child [redacted] identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification," according to a court form filled out by a mother named Mary Grace Westman - the same name as a woman who police said worked at the Annunciation Catholic Church. The shooter also attended the church's attached Catholic school until eighth grade, according to authorities.

Federal authorities reportedly visited a Florida condominium owned by Mary Grace Westman as part of the investigation into the mother of the shooter who opened fire during a Minneapolis Catholic church Mass on Wednesday, according to WINK News.

Deputies visited the same address a day earlier before the shooting for what police said was an unrelated welfare check involving a juvenile.

"Contact was made with Mrs. Westman, who stated the juvenile and the juvenile's mother had previously lived there and were no longer residing with her," the Collier County Sheriff's Office told Fox News Digital.

Officials noted it was "unrelated to the shooter or shooter's family."

The FBI declined to answer questions about activity in Florida. 

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters Thursday that investigators have not yet spoken with Westman but are continuing efforts to reach her. Authorities confirmed she has not been cooperating with the ongoing investigation.

Ryan Garry, a lawyer for Mary Westman, told Fox News she is "deeply distraught" and not involved in the crime but hired counsel to handle law enforcement and media inquiries.

The killer also posted what police are referring to as "manifestos" online.

"[It] appeared to show him at the scene and included some disturbing writing," O'Hara told reporters during a briefing.

Disturbing videos posted by a person using the name Robin Westman were deleted from YouTube after the shooting, showing handwritten pages of a notebook, weapons with messages painted on them, and commentary from whoever filmed them.

O'Hara added that all three firearms used in the attack had been purchased legally by Westman, who had no prior criminal record.

Police in Eagan, Minnesota, were part of a multiple-department response to a mental health incident at a former address used by Westman in 2018, according to NBC News, which obtained a heavily redacted report on the matter.

Eagan police did not immediately return a message seeking comment on the incident. Mendota Heights police, who were also involved in the response, declined to answer any questions about the incident or any other encounters at the same address.

Minnesota does have a so-called red flag law, officially the state's "Extreme Risk Protection Orders" program, which can block people from purchasing firearms for mental health reasons - but they have to first be flagged by their parents, prosecutors, or high-ranking police officials, according to the state government.