All
right, we're going to step away from
that for a moment. You can see there the
mayor of Minneapolis, Jacob Frey, is
about to speak. Let's listen.
>> Words that can capture the horror and
the evil of this unspeakable act.
Children are dead.
There are families that have a deceased
child.
You cannot put into words the gravity,
the tragedy, or the absolute pain of
this situation.
We are a Minneapolis family.
But to everybody out there,
do not think of these as just somebody
else's kids.
Those families are suffering immense
pain right now. Think of this as if it
were your own.
Every one of us needs to be wrapping our
arms around these families, giving them
every ounce that we can muster.
These were Minneapolis families. These
were American families.
And the amount of pain that they are
suffering right now is extraordinary.
And don't just 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.
These are kids that should be learning
with their friends.
They should be playing on the
playground.
They should be able to go to school or
church in peace without the fear or risk
of violence. And their parents should
have the same kind of assurance.
These are the sort of basic assurances
that every family should have every step
of the day regardless of where they are
in our country.
I'm so deeply saddened and I'm so sorry
uh to the families that I know are
suffering right now.
My ask is to everyone stand by them.
Love them.
These families have forever been changed
and we've all been changed with them.
We need to do everything possible to
support them through this time.
We have a family resource center that
has been set up.
I'm grateful for all of the law
enforcement agencies from a number of
different jurisdictions and all the
different departmental support that
we've received.
They're are going to be working
tirelessly.
There's also a family resource center uh
that is being set up as we speak to make
sure that we're there for everybody. Uh
again, to the families that are
suffering, to those that have
experienced loss, I'm so deeply sorry.
We're going to be with you every step of
the way. We love you.
This kind of act of evil should never
happen, and it happens far too often.
The chief will provide additional
details.
>> My name is Brian O'Hara. B R I A N O
apostrophe H A R A. I am the Minneapolis
Police Chief.
Earlier today, just before 8:30 a.m.,
our city experienced an unthinkable
tragedy.
Minneapolis police officers responded to
a report of a shooting at a mass that
was happening at the Annunciation Roman
Catholic Church on the block behind me.
This worship service was marking the
first week of school for children that
are attending the Annunciation Catholic
School.
During the mass, a gunman approached on
the outside on the side of the building
and began firing a rifle through the
church windows towards the children
sitting in the pews at the mass.
Shooting through the windows, he struck
children and worshippers that were
inside the building. The shooter was
armed with a rifle, a shotgun, and a
pistol.
This was a deliberate act of violence
against innocent children and other
people worshiping.
The sheer cruelty
and cowardice of firing into a church
full of children is absolutely
incomprehensible.
Police officers from the Minneapolis
Police Department immediately responded
entered the church and attempted to
provide first aid and rescue some of the
children that were hiding throughout the
building while other first responders
came and EMS responded to rush victims
to nearby hospitals.
Two young children, ages eight and 10,
were killed where they sat in the pews.
Their parents have been notified.
17 other people were injured,
14 of them being children.
Two of those children are in critical
condition.
The coward who fired these shots
ultimately took his own life in the rear
of the church.
Our hearts are broken for the families
who have lost their their children.
For these young lives that are now
fighting to recover and for our entire
community that has been so deeply
traumatized by this senseless attack.
We will stand together to protect our
children, our schools, and our houses of
worship.
This deliberate act of violence
is just an a sign of cruelty that is
beyond comprehension.
Our hearts
our hearts are broken for everyone
that's been affected by this tragedy.
As we begin the difficult path of
healing, I want the community to know
this, that even in the face of such
evil, the Minneapolis Police Department
and all of our law enforcement partners
stand with our community. We stand with
these families and with this parish. We
will continue to be here for you.
With that, the investigation is
obviously in its preliminary stages and
I will attempt to uh take some questions
to provide further information.
>> Chief, what can you tell us about the
suspect in this case? How how old was
he? Any kind of motivation, any any
notes or any other information left
behind?
>> So, we were looking uh the question was
what can be said about the shooter? We
believe it is one suspect, a soul
shooter. We believe he is deceased. He
is in his early 20s. uh does not have an
extensive uh known criminal history. Um
and we are looking through uh
information left behind to try and
determine some type of motive.
>> How many kids at the school? How many
kids at the school?
>> How many children? There were I don't
have an exact The question was how many
children at the school? There were
dozens of children inside the mass at
the time. I don't have an exact count.
Uh the children have been relocated into
the school uh which is where their
families are are reunifying with them.
>> The shooter weapons other than the
weapons was the shooter a student former
student was the employee.
>> The the question was do we know if the
student was if the shooter was a uh
former school uh employee or a former
student? We don't have that information.
>> Did he leave anything behind other than
the weapon?
>> There's a vehicle. The question was, was
anything left behind? There's a vehicle
that we believe that the uh suspect used
that is being searched. Uh and and we
are uh we will be conducting other
searches related to this.
>> And where was it?
>> Inside the parking lot here.
>> There was some neighbors who said that
the door to the church had been
barricaded.
>> Yep.
>> So the question was neighbors had said
that the door to the church had been
barricaded. Uh the shooter approached on
one side of the church building and on
that side at least two doors there it
appears there had been uh like a 2x4
placed. So not all of the doors around
the building but on the side where the
shooter did fire
>> and on the outside
>> on the outside. Yes.
>> Were there any explosives that were
found?
>> The question was was there any
explosives? There were reports of that.
There were no uh explosives or
improvised devices that we found. I do
believe there was one uh I guess you
would call it a smoke bomb, like not an
explosive, but a a sort of a firework
that would release smoke.
>> Which side of the building?
>> Uh the side that is closest to us here
on this side. Yep.
>> Uh I I don't have specific information
on that that I can release.
>> Yeah, the uh question was is he dead
from a gunshot wound? The answer is yes.
We believe he took his own life in the
parking lot.
>> Was this outside or in or both inside
that he was shooting?
>> Uh I the question was was he shooting
outside and inside? He was absolutely
shooting outside of the building on the
side of the church inside through the
windows. It appears he may have gone
inside, but I don't believe we've
located any casings inside the building.
So I'm not certain if he fired also
while inside. It appears if not all most
of the shooting happened outside the
building.
related to any other shootings that
happened in the last 24 hours.
>> So yeah, Taylor's asking is this related
to any of the other shootings? This does
not appear to be related to any other
shooting in the city.
>> Do you know approximately how many
rounds?
>> The question was how many rounds? I
would say it's in the dozens. We don't
have an exact count. There's a sidewalk
on the outside as well as a grassy area.
So obviously we are we are going through
and taking our time to process the
scene.
>> Was he firing just one weapon like the
rifle? The question was, was he firing
one weapon? We believe he had fired all
three. He had a rifle, a shotgun, and a
>> Chief, was this individual license to
conceal and carry?
>> Is were the weapons uh was he lawfully
carrying the weapons? I I don't have
that information and I don't have any
information on any uh significant
criminal history either.
>> Was he dressed at all in any tactical
type of gear or anything? It appeared he
had uh some black clothing on. Um his
cargo type pants. I I guess you could
interpret that as you know, however you
like. Ladies and gentlemen,