NBC issues correction for ‘misgendering’ Minnesota trans Catholic school shooter

In the wake of a mass shooting carried out by Robert "Robin" Westman at a Minneapolis Catholic school, NBC News has issued a correction related to the shooter’s pronouns. Westman expressed regret with transitioning in writings left behind.

An article, originally published on Thursday and updated on Friday, now contains a correction at the bottom which states: "A previous version of this article used the wrong pronoun for the shooter. She used female pronouns." The article had originally referred to Westman with male pronouns.

Writings left behind by Westman showed the gunman regretted transitioning. "I am sick of my hair," Westman wrote. "I want to chop it off. I only keep it because it is pretty much my last charade of being trans. I am tired of being trans, I wish I never brain-washed myself. I can’t cut my hair off now as it would be an embarrassing defeat, and it might be a concerning change of character that could get me reported."

"It just always gets in my way," Westman continued. "I will probably chop it on the day of the attack," Westman said. "I don’t want to dress girly all the time but I guess sometimes I really like it. I know I am not a woman but I definitely don’t feel like a man."

In 2020, Westman changed his name from Robert to Robin as a minor, with Westman’s parents signing onto the form. The form stated that Westman "identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification."

In the aftermath of the shooting, which saw the deaths of two schoolchildren, major news outlets avoided reporting or buried the fact that the gunman identified as transgender, with some using female pronouns. The two children killed in the shooting, which occurred as students at the Annunciation School were attending their first mass of the school year, were identified as 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski.