An art teacher who had the Annunciation Catholic Church shooter in her class in 2017 said she saw signs of self-harm on her then-student.
The teacher, Sarah Reely, said Robin Westman was in her class for a year at an all-boys prep school in Minnesota, where she noticed evidence of self-harm on the student’s arm and reported it.
“Self harm is either a cry for help, an indication of self hate, or both. But it’s always sign something is wrong,” Reely wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday.
Westman, 23, opened fire at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis during morning Mass on Wednesday, killing two children and injuring 18 other worshippers.
Reely said in her post that she saw a photo of Westman, a transgender woman, and immediately recognized her. The teacher said she knew at the time Westman was “a kid who needed help.”
“She was definitely odd, was really into furries and odd artwork and said some odd things, but wasn’t violent towards others to my knowledge,” Reely wrote. “Being odd isn’t a red flag — I was an odd kid myself and have always had a heart for the odd kids.”
Reely said Westman did not fit in at the school, “as one might imagine would happen to a queer kid in a conservative environment,” and that she “intentionally made a point to build a relationship,” with her.
Westman eventually transferred schools, Reely said, but she always hoped that her former student was OK.
“I am NOT posting this to build sympathy for a murderer or place blame on any one person or entity for failing to stop this,” Reely wrote. “I am posting this to remind people that it’s a snowball effect of multiple system failures at a national level, that every murderer was once a kid in someones classroom who needed help, and that this issue is so much deeper and more complicated than we want to admit.”
Reely declined to speak to NBC News about Westman.
On Wednesday, Westman fired a rifle through the side windows of Annunciation Catholic School’s church, aiming at children sitting in the pews, just before 8:30 a.m.
Westman was a student at Annunciation, and her mother, Mary Grace Westman, had once worked at the school.
The shooter was found dead at the rear of the church with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, according to search warrants. She was found dressed in black “tactical” gear with at least two firearms nearby, police said.
Officials found approximately 120 shell casings from three different guns the shooter used, according to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. O’Hara said Westman had a “fascination” with mass 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 have information indicating that Westman suffered from mental illness and that, other than a traffic ticket, she did not have a police record. But a heavily redacted police report from 2018 shows that police were called to a townhouse where Westman lived with her mother. Mental health was noted as the reason for the call.
Minnesota has a red flag law that went into effect in January 2024, allowing family members and others to petition the courts to have guns removed from a person they believe poses a threat to themselves or the community. But it does not appear any alarms were sounded as Westman amassed an arsenal that included a rifle, a pistol and a shotgun used in the attack on the church.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or chat live at 988lifeline.org. You can also visit SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for additional support.
Sumiko Moots contributed.
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