Security footage from a Minnesota gun shop has been released, showing the Annunciation Church shooter 'grinning and chatting' with employees just four days before unleashing their venom and going on a shooting rampage that left two young children dead, 18 injured, including 15 children, and the gunman committing suicide.
The newly released footage from Frontiersman Sports in St. Louis Park, obtained by KSTP, shows Robin Westman, 23, entering the store around 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Aug. 23. His hair is tied in a ponytail with a scrunchie and he is wearing a T-shirt emblazoned with 'a place for well-being' (yes, the irony is palpable…) on the back.
The owner of the gun store stated that they did not see any red flags.
Kory Krause, the shop's owner, told the outlet that staff members described Westman as 'pleasant' and 'jovial' as he spent 40 minutes exploring a selection of weaponry, including pistols and a rifle, and that none of his behavior raised any red lights.
What could I have done? What might I have caught? "There was nothing," Krause told the site, adding that he uploaded the video in the hopes that it would shed light on how such a catastrophe could have occurred.
Weapons used during Minneapolis school shooting were legally purchased with gun permit
At one point, Westman, during released store footage, Westman is seen pointing a revolver at the floor of the store as she stared down the barrel.
She was also seen eyeing up several rifles before grabbing one with a telescopic scope on it and again testing it out on the shop floor.
Krause added: ‘What could I have done? What could I have caught? He had three layers of seasoned veteran employees that can sniff this stuff out from a mile away.
‘We want to know that we did everything right. We have a reputation for picking out people that are bad actors.’
During the school shooting, the gunman who was armed with a rifle, semi automatic shotgun and pistol fired off 116 rifle shots. All weapons used had been legally purchased and bought recently investigators said.
Westman, who was transgender, and had previously gone as Robert Westman had penned an online manifesto stating that she regretted transitioning, saying she had been ‘brainwashed’, along with expressing his discontent with his mother, Mary Grace Westman who he blamed for telling him he would resent transitioning gender identity.
The shooter’s mother has since gone into hiding, refusing to cooperate with investigators and hired a criminal defense attorney.
Wednesday’s school shooting marked the 44th school shooting in the US this year, according to a CNN analysis. For the year 2024, there were 43 school mass shootings.
