Hollywood writer Stephen King reacted to the Minneapolis Catholic school shooting by insisting the focus should be on firearms rather than the shooter’s transgender identity.
King posted twice on X after the attack.
Shooter Robert “Robin” Westman opened fire on students inside Annunciation Catholic School’s church on Wednesday.
The horrific attack left two children dead and 17 others wounded.
Police confirmed that Westman was found dead after he turned the gun on himself.
23-year-old Westman was a male who claimed to be a “transgender woman.”
In his first post, King appeared to push back on Elon Musk’s observation that “there is a clear pattern here” when referencing the shooter’s trans status.
“Whether he was transgender is beside the point,” King responded.
“The point is he had a gun.”
Whether he was transgender is beside the point. The point is he had a gun. https://t.co/erCYw4JNCz
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 27, 2025
Minutes later, King followed up with another post, this time countering criticism of transgenderism from Daily Wire host Matt Walsh.
Walsh warned that “every trans person is dangerously delusional.”
“They are all mentally sick,” he added.
King responded by blaming firearms.
“Trans is not the problem,” King insisted.
“He had a gun. That’s the problem.”
Trans is not the problem. He had a gun. That’s the problem. https://t.co/Lkdr1BccR2
— Stephen King (@StephenKing) August 27, 2025
There is no question regarding the shooter’s identity.
Documents confirmed the 23-year-old changed his name from “Robert” to “Robin” at age 17 and “identified as female.”
The shooter left behind a video message in which he declared his plans, saying, “F** those kids.”
Westman posted the video to a now-deleted YouTube page just hours before shooting through stained glass windows at children sitting on the pews inside the school’s church.
In a message, the gunman explained the reason for carrying out the attack in Minneapolis, while mocking Christians who offer “thoughts and prayers” for victims of tragedies.
“Pray for the victims and their families,” Westman mockingly concluded his rambling note.
In addition, he used a rifle magazine labeled “For the children, hahahahahahaha.”
The Minneapolis tragedy is the second high-profile case in which a transgender shooter targeted a Christian school.
On March 27, 2023, a woman claiming to be transgender shot and killed six victims at Covenant Christian School in Nashville.
A report released by the Nashville Metropolitan Police Department revealed the attacker began planning in 2018 to target Creswell Middle School before ultimately shifting to Covenant in 2021.
Investigators noted three reasons for the change:
“(1) [It] was more geographically isolated than Creswell Middle, which she felt would give her more time to kill;
“(2) … being a private Christian school, she would receive more notoriety; and
“(3) due to the student body at Creswell Middle being predominantly black, she was afraid she would be seen as a racist…”
The pattern of violence linked to transgender shooters does not stop there.
In June 2024, a transgender suspect was arrested after allegedly shooting both parents dead.
ABC 4 identified the suspect, originally named Collin Troy Bailey, who at the time of his arrest was going by the name Mia Bailey.
Police confirmed Bailey’s “name and gender were legally changed in 2023,” according to KSLTV.
Despite these repeated incidents, King argued the conversation should steer away from transgenderism and toward gun control.
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