Wednesday's news that a 23-year-old mentally ill transgender man had opened fire on students at the Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis during a back-to-school Mass horrified the nation. The gunman's depraved act left two children -- Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10 -- dead, and 18 others wounded.
The tragedy was shocking enough. But nearly as unsettling were the surreal, and at times even grotesque, reactions from the Left -- responses that ranged from callous indifference to outright empathy for the killer, Robert "Robin" Westman, who identified as a female.
In the video below, a far-Left activist makes it clear that her sympathy lies not with the innocent victims, but with the perpetrator himself. Her words must be heard to be believed.
I want to talk with everyone about the situation in the Catholic school shooting.
That poor girl who attended the school and went in there and shot up the school after transitioning and after attending that school, and we can only assume that that school, as a Catholic school, did not welcome her, did not make her feel seen, included, safe, during her confusing years, during her transitional years, during her becoming who she needed to become.
But the goal was to become happy when you transition. And so this is going to feed a lot of conversation about mental illness around trans people and this is why people shouldn't encourage people to transition. And it's just so sad because it affects the LGBTQ+ community.
Sadly, there are many similar videos out there from progressives whose reactions to this depraved act were to reaffirm their support for the brave souls who have the "courage" to transgender.
Possibly even more disturbing were the messages from Democratic leaders and influencers such as Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, former Biden administration press secretary and current MSNBC host Jen Psaki, and California Governor Gavin Newsom.
At a press conference following the killings, Frey had the audacity to lecture reporters on the hatred being directed toward the trans community as a consequence of the violence. He made a remarkable statement: "I have heard about a whole lot of hate that's being directed at our trans community. 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."
Of course, he made no mention of Westman's open hatred for Catholics, in fact, for all Christians and Jews, which is why the FBI is investigating this as a hate crime and potentially a case of domestic terrorism. The killer attached an image of Jesus Christ to a shooting target. He also wrote "Where is Your God?" on a gun magazine.
Frey also criticized those calling for prayer. He warned: "Don't say this is about 'thoughts and prayers' right now -- these kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school -- they were in a church."
Frey's comments almost make one want to go out and cast a vote for his opponent, socialist Omar Fateh, in the city's upcoming mayoral election.
Psaki first responded to the shooting on X. She wrote: "Prayer is not freaking enough. Prayers do not end school shootings. Prayers do not make parents feel safe sending their kids to school. Prayer does not bring these kids back. Enough with the thoughts and prayers.
It took Psaki around a nanosecond to push her narrative even further. In a second post, she added, "When kids are getting shot in their pews at a catholic school mass and your crime plan is to have National Guard put mulch down around DC, maybe rethink your strategy."
Psaki doubled down during a monologue on her Wednesday night show. She said,
Half the politicians in our country have little more to offer than thoughts and prayers. That is all they are offering. 'Join all of us in praying for the victims' was Vice President JD Vance's response today.
That's what he said. That's it. 'Please join me in praying for everyone involved,' [President Donald] Trump wrote. We have seen this play out over and over again. There is a shooting. Then come the thoughts and prayers, and then comes the attempt to shift the focus. This is what always happens.
While her followers loved her provocative messages, her words didn't sit well with Christians and conservatives.
Karen Hamilton, a candidate for the Virginia House of Delegates, responded, "I don't expect a spiritually blind person to understand prayer, but it is real. Today I attended the funeral of a baby, and often when parents are in the depths of grief, Jesus is their greatest comforter. You should investigate why that is, rather than belittling it."
Journalist Megan Basham wrote, "Your party encourages mental illness in telling men they can be women, then encourages them identify as victims when the world does not indulge their perverse fantasies, and then screams 'prayers are not enough' when insane transgenders shoot up schools."
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt criticized Psaki's remarks at Thursday's press briefing, saying, "I saw the comments of Ms. Psaki and frankly I think they're incredibly insensitive and disrespectful to the tens of millions of Americans of faith across this country who believe in the power of prayer, who believe that prayer works."
Newsom's mindless reaction to Leavitt? He reiterated Frey's earlier comment: "These children were literally praying as they got shot at."
And now this foolish, unforced quip from the man is laser-focused on becoming the next president of the United States, has everybody talking.
The dimwitted California governor knows not what he's done. But he's about to find out.