A Republican congressional candidate in Texas who was named in a YouTube video posted by Minneapolis school shooter Robin Westman condemned the transgender gunman’s “hateful and senseless act” Wednesday.
Brandon Herrera, a popular YouTuber and advocate for the Second Amendment better known under the handle “TheAKGuy,” slammed Westman’s alleged massacre.
“I’m horrified by this clearly hate-motivated attack on innocent children and disgusted that my name came out of this demon’s mouth,” Herrera wrote in an email to Fox News Digital.
Brandon Herrera, who was name-dropped in the video made by Wednesday’s mass shooting suspect, Robin Westman. The Washington Post via Getty Images
Herrera, a Second Amendment activist, said, “I’m horrified by this clearly hate-motivated attack on innocent children and disgusted that my name came out of this demon’s mouth.” Steven Garcia for NY PostIn one of the video manifestos posted on Westman’s YouTube account shortly before he went on a deadly shooting spree at the Annunciation Catholic School, the alleged gunman lauded Herrera with praise.
“Yeah, I met Brandon Herrera at SHOT Show last year and he and I had a conversation, a brief conversation, we agreed on a lot of things, so y’all should vote for Brandon Herrera for president,” Westman said in the video.
SHOT, or the “Shooting, Hunting, and Outdoor Trade Show,” is a popular firearms expo held annually in Las Vegas.
Westman is accused of killing two children and wounding 17 others at Annunciation Catholic School. Obtained by NY PostHerrera insisted that he doesn’t “remember this individual at all, nor does anyone [he] was there with.”
Mark Oliva, a spokesperson for the National Shooting Sports Foundation, which owns and operates the expo, confirmed that the “murderer’s name is not among any of the attendees at SHOT Show in 2024, or any year prior,” according to a statement obtained by Fox News Digital.
Herrera noted that he is also “coordinating with friends in law enforcement” to figure out how his online community could support those impacted by “this senseless act.”
Westman, who was originally named after his grandfather before changing his name to Robin three years ago, shot up a Catholic school church during a welcome Mass for the school year before turning the gun on himself.
Two young students, aged 8 and 10, were killed and 17 others were injured.
On his YouTube channel, Westman shared videos including footage of his notebook pages with bullets, weapons, and antisemitic messages scrawled on them.
Minnesota Police said Westman is deceased from what was likely described as a self-inflicted gunshot wound. AFP via Getty ImagesHe’d settled on attacking Annunciation — which he attended and where his mother had worked — well in advance, according to the journal pages shared on his YouTube, with the intent to create a “devastating tragedy.”
“Maybe I could attack an event at the on-site church. I think attacking a large group of kids coming in from recess is my best plan … Then from there I can go inside and kill, going for as long as I can,” one page read.
The channel has not been authenticated by authorities.
“I will not, nor will I ever say the name of the gutless coward who decided to take the lives of innocent people in Minneapolis today,” Herrera doubled-down on X.
“My heart goes out to the family of those affected, but to the shooter, I have one thing to say in response. F–k you. Burn in hell.”
