Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) downplayed reports that the Minneapolis Catholic school shooter identified as transgender and expressed anti-Trump sentiments, instead shifting focus to gun control during an interview Wednesday on MSNBC’s The Briefing.
Host Jen Psaki noted that law enforcement had confirmed the shooter’s possible transgender identity and anti-Trump writings, including disturbing slogans scrawled on weapons. She criticized those pointing to these details as part of an effort “to weaponize” the story.
Frey quickly dismissed the significance of the shooter’s ideology. “Anybody who is using this as an opportunity to villainize trans people has completely lost touch with a common humanity,” Frey said. He added that people often “reverse manufacture the facts” to reach their preferred conclusions.
While briefly acknowledging the Catholic community targeted in the massacre, Frey pivoted to calling for love and unity rather than focusing on the shooter’s motives. “The antidote to hate is not more hate,” he said, urging Americans to stand together across communities.
But moments later, Frey placed the blame on firearms. “I’m not an expert on every statutory section of gun law throughout the country. What I do know is that we have too many of them,” he claimed. “This particular individual had a whole ton of guns, and in most places, you can buy virtually as many as you want, apparently, even if you’ve got some severe mental health disorders.”
Frey’s comments come as federal investigators confirmed the shooting is being investigated as an anti-Catholic hate crime. The shooter, identified as Robin Westman, killed two children and wounded 17 others during Mass, leaving behind a manifesto laced with anti-Christian rhetoric.
Critics argue Frey’s refusal to address the shooter’s motives—while placing blame on firearms—ignores the ideological component of an attack that specifically targeted Catholic children and their faith.
