NBC Issues Correction After Using ‘the Wrong Pronoun’ for Mass Shooter: ‘She Used Female Pronouns’

NBC News issued a correction on Friday after the news outlet used “the wrong pronoun” for Minneapolis mass shooter Robin Westman, who killed two children and left over a dozen others injured during a shooting at a church last week.

“CORRECTION (Aug. 29, 2025, 8:05 a.m. ET): A previous version of this article used the wrong pronoun for the shooter. She used female pronouns,” read the correction notice added to an article written by four reporters for the outlet.

The article had previously referred to Westman – who identified as a transgender woman – with male pronouns.

A district court gave approval for the shooter’s name to be changed from Robert to Robin in 2020, acknowledging that Westman “identifies as a female and wants her name to reflect that identification.”

According to the New York Post, which translated Russian Cyrillic writing in the shooter’s journal, Westman expressed regret about being transgender ahead of the attack.

“I only keep [the long hair] because it is pretty much my last shred of being trans. I am tired of being trans, I wish I never brain-washed myself,” wrote Westman, according to the Post. “I regret being trans… I wish I was a girl I just know I cannot achieve that body with the technology we have today. I also can’t afford that.”

The shooter also reportedly wrote about being drawn to anthropomorphic animals due to feelings of self-loathing.

“I like feeling sexy and cute but my face never matches how I feel. I hate my face,” Westman confessed. “Maybe that’s why I like furries so much. You can give yourself a new body and face.”

Westman died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound after the shooting.