Minneapolis Mayor preaches about trans rights during press brief about cold-blooded trans killer shooting up Annunciation Catholic School

"I have heard about a whole lot of hate that's being directed at our trans community," Frey told reporters at a press briefing Wednesday afternoon. "Anybody who is using this as an opportunity to villainize our trans community, or any other community out there, has lost their sense of common humanity. We should not be operating out of a place of hate for anyone."

Frey, a Democrat, emphasized the need to focus on supporting the grieving families instead of the suspect's gender identity and praised the "heroic" actions of teachers who shielded students during the attack. He then ushered in calls for gun control.

"Look, we need to be doing more than talking. It can't be words. There needs to be action. When we have seen school shooting after school shooting. When we have seen church shootings by horrible actors," said Frey. "To recognize that we've got more guns in this country than we have people. And it's on all of us to recognize that we can't just say that this shouldn't happen again and then allow it to happen again and again beyond that."

Authorities have identified the shooter as 23-year-old Robin Westman, born as Robert Westman, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound in the church parking lot.

The shooting happened around 8:15 am, when Westman allegedly fired a rifle through the stained-glass windows of the school's church, targeting children and parishioners attending Mass inside. Two children, ages 8 and 10, were killed, while 14 other children and three adults were injured, with at least two in critical condition, according to police.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara described the attack as a "deliberate act of violence against innocent children." FBI Director Kash Patel said the FBI "is investigating this shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and hate crime targeting Catholics."

Westman transitioned to female in 2019 at the age of 17. Fox News reported that his mother, who worked at the school before retiring in 2021, signed off on his gender transition as a minor.

The cold-blooded killer appeared to have plotted the attack, leaving behind a manifesto and producing several videos leading up to the massacre.