At a press briefing on Thursday, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara spoke about Wednesday's deadly Catholic school shooting including details about the shooter's weapons and motivation.
00:00Good afternoon, my name is Brian O'Hara, B-R-I-A-N-O-apostrophe-H-A-R-A.
00:26I am the Minneapolis Police Chief.
00:30This has been a very difficult week for our community here in Minneapolis.
00:36As we continue to move along this difficult path of healing, I want the community to know
00:41that even in the face of evil, the Minneapolis Police Department and all of our law enforcement
00:47partners collectively stand together with you.
00:52We stand with our families that have been affected by this senseless violence, as well
00:57as with the parish community.
00:59We will continue to be here for all of you.
01:03The men and women of the Minneapolis Police Department who responded yesterday did not
01:08hesitate.
01:10At 8.27 a.m., 9-1-1 began to receive initial calls of shots being fired.
01:16By 8.31 a Minneapolis Police Officer, in a regular uniform, with no helmet, no SWAT gear, ran into
01:26the church and was met by a parishioner who directed him towards where the gunman had been.
01:31The parishioner later told me that was the first time that he, the children and others there had any sense that they might be safe and survive.
01:41The members that responded yesterday exemplified the motto that is on the Minneapolis police squad cars, to protect with courage and to serve with compassion.
01:54All of our law enforcement partners, first responders and many children, members of the school staff and parishioners of Annunciation Catholic Church all showed incredible courage yesterday in the face of unspeakable horror.
02:12As the investigation continues, we will continue working alongside our county, state and federal law enforcement partners as we continue to be critical as we piece together exactly what happened.
02:27At this time, we have identified a total of 20 victims that had injuries resulting from gunfire, including the 8- and 10-year-old who were killed yesterday.
02:4115 of the injured are children between the ages of 6 and 15.
02:48Three of those injured are adults in their 80s.
02:51Those who remain hospitalized need all of our support, as we continue to pray for a speedy recovery for all of our victims.
03:02During the processing of the scene at Annunciation Church yesterday, three shotgun shells were recovered, along with approximately 116 rifle rounds.
03:13One live round was recovered from a handgun that appears to have malfunctioned as the shooter attempted to use it and became stuck in the chamber.
03:26There were four search warrants that were executed yesterday.
03:30One at the church, the others were executed at residences believed to be associated with the shooter.
03:36One of those residences was in the city of Minneapolis, a second one was in Richfield, and a third one was in St. Louis Park, which are both bordering municipalities.
03:49Additional evidence was recovered as a result of these warrants.
03:54Literally hundreds of pieces of evidence have been recovered thus far, which include electronic devices that will be further searched and processed.
04:03It now becomes our job collectively with all of law enforcement to process that evidence.
04:11And so this investigation will continue, and we will follow all of the evidence to its logical conclusion.
04:18I am aware, however, that this may not ultimately provide the answers that our public is looking for.
04:24When something terrible happens, the public expects law enforcement to provide some explanation for what happened.
04:34But the reality is, this is an unthinkable, completely senseless act.
04:40Violence perpetrated against children worshipping at mass.
04:45And no investigation, no evidence will ever be able to make sense of such an unthinkable tragedy.
04:51That being said, we will do our best to determine and identify a specific motive.
05:00What we have seen so far is this is an individual who, unfortunately, like so many other mass shooters that we have seen in this country, too often, and around the world,
05:12had some deranged fascination with previous mass shootings and very disturbing writings that demonstrate hatred towards many different individuals and different groups of people.
05:26And he fantasized about the plans of other mass shooters.
05:31Unfortunately, again, this has become all too common in our society.
05:36That being said, we know ultimately the purpose of the shooter's actions was to obtain notoriety for the shooter themselves.
05:47That being said, I have only said the name of this shooter once.
05:53And I'm asking members of the media to stop saying the shooter's name.
05:57That was the whole purpose of why he did this heinous act.
06:00To obtain that notoriety for themselves.
06:03As schools in our city are beginning to start this week and next, we are working with all of our law enforcement partners,
06:13county sheriffs, state troopers, and surrounding municipalities that are helping the city of Minneapolis
06:19as we step up police presence both in and around schools and around all of our houses of worship in the city.
06:26Many of our law enforcement partners are also supplementing patrols, and we could not be more grateful.
06:34This has truly been a collective effort in partnership with our community.
06:39We also must say that we will be forever in debt to all of the doctors, nurses, and paramedics who responded,
06:49who are caring for these victims in this incident.
06:52I cannot tell you how incredibly grateful we are for all of the love and support that has been pouring in from all around the country,
07:02both for the first responders who initially responded, entered that church, and dealt with the unthinkable,
07:10and for all of the victims and families that have received that love and support as well.
07:16The Minneapolis Police Department and our community have a long road ahead of us to heal,
07:22and we need everyone to continue to show their support after the cameras once again leave this city.
07:31I'd like to invite up the acting United States Attorney for the District of Minnesota, Joe Thompson.
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