Is Clifford Thomas Phillips Jr. the suspect in the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis? No, that's not true: The shooter has been identified by law enforcement officials as Robin Westman. He died by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The name Clifford Thomas Phillips Jr. was already circulating on social media before the shooting in Minneapolis happened. In social media posts Phillips' name was already falsely associated with at least two university shooting hoaxes, at Villanova University in Philadelphia and the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. There was no shooting at either university.
The incorrect name of a suspect appeared in a post (archived here) published on X by @DrDillDoeAlpha on Aug. 27, 2025. The post was captioned:
🚨BREAKING 🚨
The shooter at the Minneapolis church has been identified as Clifford Thomas Phillps Jr.
Phillips travelled from his home in Columbus, OH and attacked the chruch
Phillips is a radical leftist who runs the YouTube channel "CTP Know the Truth"
The post included this photo:
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshot of @DrDillDoeAlpha post on X)
The @DrDillDoeAlpha account has posted the same photo with the same false caption three times, changing only the location of the shooting. The name is also spelled unusually, Phillps. An Aug. 21, 2025 post on X (archived here) said Phillips was the shooter at Villanova University, an Aug. 25, 2025 post (archived here) said Phillips was the shooter at the University of Arkansas, and a Aug. 27 2025 post (archived here) said he was the shooter at the Minneapolis church. AP News reported on Aug. 26, 2025 that in recent days false reports of an active shooter have hit at least twelve campuses, including Villanova and the University of Arkansas.
(Image Source: Lead Stories screenshots of @DrDillDoeAlpha posts on X)
At a press conference streamed live on YouTube at 11 a.m. on August 27, it was confirmed that the gunman was dead, 19 minutes, 45 seconds in. NBC News reported that Robin Westman had been identified as the suspect by multiple law enforcement sources.
