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My name is Brian O'Hara, B-R-I-A-N-O-apostrophe-H-A-R-A
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I am the Minneapolis police chief. Earlier today, just before 8.30 a.m., our city experienced an unthinkable tragedy
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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
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This worship service was marking the first week of school for children that are attending the Annunciation Catholic School
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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
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Shooting through the windows, he struck children and worshippers that were inside the building
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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
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The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible
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Police officers from the Minneapolis Police Department immediately responded. entered the church and attempted to provide first aid
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and rescue some of the children that were hiding throughout the building
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while other first responders came and EMS responded to rush victims to nearby hospitals
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Two young children, ages 8 and 10, were killed where they sat in the pews
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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
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Our hearts are broken for the families who have lost their children
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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
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We will stand together to protect our children, our schools, and our houses of worship
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This deliberate act of violence is just a sign of cruelty that is beyond comprehension
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Our hearts are broken for everyone that's been affected by this tragedy
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As we begin the difficult path of healing, I want the community to know this
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that even in the face of such evil, the Minneapolis Police Department and all of
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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
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and I will attempt to take some questions to provide further information
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Chief, what can you tell us about the suspect in this case? How old was he? Any kind of motivation
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Any notes or any other information? So we were looking. The question was, what can be said about the shooter
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We believe it is one suspect, a sole shooter. We believe he is deceased
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He is in his early 20s, does not have an extensive known criminal history
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And we are looking through information left behind to try and determine some type of motive
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How many children? There were. I don't have an exact. The question was how many children at the school
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There were dozens of children inside the mass at the time. I don't have an exact count
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The children have been relocated into the school, which is where their families are reunifying with them
