00:00There are no words that can capture the horror and the evil of this unspeakable act.
00:07Children are dead.
00:11There are families that have a deceased child.
00:16You cannot put into words the gravity, the tragedy, or the absolute pain of this situation.
00:25We are a Minneapolis family.
00:27But to everybody out there, do not think of these as just somebody else's kids.
00:37Those families are suffering immense pain right now.
00:42Think of this as if it were your own.
00:46Every one of us needs to be wrapping our arms around these families, giving them every ounce that we can muster.
00:55These were Minneapolis families.
00:56These were American families.
00:59And the amount of pain that they are suffering right now is extraordinary.
01:05And don't just say this is about thoughts and prayers right now.
01:09These kids were literally praying.
01:11It was the first week of school.
01:13They were in a church.
01:15Earlier today, just before 8.30 a.m., our city experienced an unthinkable tragedy.
01:23Minneapolis 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.
01:34This worship service was marking the first week of school for children that are attending the Annunciation Catholic School.
01:45During 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.
01:58Shooting through the windows, he struck children and worshipers that were inside the building.
02:05The shooter was armed with a rifle, a shotgun, and a pistol.
02:10This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshiping.
02:20The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible.
02:31Police 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.
02:46While other first responders came, an EMS responded to rush victims to nearby hospitals.
02:53Two young children, ages 8 and 10, were killed where they sat in the pews.
03:02Their parents have been notified.
03:0617 other people were injured, 14 of them being children.
03:12Two of those children are in critical condition.
03:17The coward who fired these shots ultimately took his own life in the rear of the church.
03:24Our hearts are broken for the families who have lost their children.
03:30For these young lives that are now fighting to recover.
03:34And for our entire community that has been so deeply traumatized by this senseless attack.
03:40We believe it is one suspect, a sole shooter.
03:43We believe he is deceased.
03:45He is in his early 20s.
03:46He does not have an extensive known criminal history.
03:52And we are looking through information left behind to try and determine some type of motive.
03:58The lieutenant is a
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