Videos linked to Minneapolis shooting suspect show antisemitic, anti-Israel messages

Videos linked to the alleged shooter of a Catholic School in Minneapolis, Minnesota, include antisemitic messages written on weapons.

Authorities have identified the suspect, who died by suicide at the scene, as Robin Westman.

Videos posted online believed to be from Westman show firearms and ammunition magazines marked with messages written in white.

The Anti-Defamation League says preliminary research indicates the shooter had written antisemitic and anti-Israel references on the weapons, as well as praise for mass killers from across the ideological spectrum, including white supremacist, Islamophobic and anti-government attackers.

Messages on the weapons in the videos say “Burn Israel,” and “Destroy HIAS,” referring to a Jewish refugee agency that white supremacists have used as evidence of the Great Replacement Theory, which falsely claims that Jews are attempting to bring non-white immigrants into the US to supplant the white population.

On the handle of one firearm was the name “Robert Bowers,” a white supremacist who murdered 11 people at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, in 2018. Bowers had ranted against HIAS online ahead of the shooting.

On another weapon, the alleged shooter wrote, “6 million wasn’t enough,” an apparent reference to the Holocaust.

An object that appeared to be a smoke grenade had the words “Jew Gas.”

The videos also have anti-Christian messages and racist terms for Hispanic and Black people, and the message “Kill Donald Trump.”

The videos have not yet been verified by law enforcement.