Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O’Hara provided an update on the shooting at the Annunciation Church and Catholic School on Wednesday and confirmed that multiple students are dead and at least 17 people were injured.
The Gateway Pundit reported earlier on the tragic shooting, which happened while students were attending a Wednesday morning mass.
President Trump said he was “fully briefed on the tragic shooting,” and the White House is monitoring the situation.
“There are no words that can capture the horror and the evil of this unspeakable act,” he said. “Children are dead.”
“These kids were literally praying. It was the first week of school. They were in a church,” he added.
WATCH:
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told reporters that the shooting unfolded “just before 8:30 am” as students attended a church service “marking the first week of school.” Two students were killed, ages eight and ten, and 17 others were injured, including 14 children and three adults.
He further confirmed that police believe the “coward” took his own life after the “deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshiping.”.
It appears that the suspect, a male in his early 20s, opened fire from outside the church as the children sat in the pews and prayed. The number of rounds “is in the dozens,” said O’Hara. He was wearing Black clothing and “cargo-type” pants, O’Hara said.
The shooter was armed with three weapons: a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol.
WATCH:
O’Hara: Earlier today, just before 8:30 am, 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 ten, 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 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 a sign of cruelty that is beyond comprehension. 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 take some questions to provide further information.
The post WATCH: Minneapolis Mayor Confirms “Children Dead” in Catholic School Church Shooting – Police Chief: 2 Dead, Ages 8 and 10, 17 Others Injured, Including 14 Children and 3 Adults appeared first on The Gateway Pundit.