Media outlets issue corrections for using 'wrong' pronouns in coverage of Minneapolis church shooter

After a transgender-identified gunman opened fire at a Catholic school in Minnesota last week, leaving two children dead and 19 others wounded, media outlets nationwide issued a bevy of corrections and clarifications for “misgendering” the gunman.

Twenty-three-year-old Robin Westman, born Robert Westman, legally changed his name in 2020 — when he was a minor — to identify as a female, according to court records.

Before the shooting at the Church of the Annunciation in Minneapolis, Westman reportedly left a note in which he said he was “tired of being [transgender]” and hinted at detransitioning from identifying as female.

Even after FBI Director Kash Patel identified Westman as a biological male, several media outlets, including the New York Times, refused to do so.

The following pages highlight how some of America’s most prominent names in journalism handled coverage of Westman.