FBI Director: Investigating Minneapolis church shooting as hate crime against Catholics
FBI Director Kash Patel said that the bureau is investigating the Minneapolis church shooting as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics.A gunman opened fire on students attending mass at Annunciation Catholic Church and School in Minneapolis, killing two children and injuring 17 others, including 14 children, with two in critical condition. Police say the gunman took his own life after the shooting.Police said 14 of the injured were children, with their ages ranging from 6 to 15, and they are all expected to survive. The three adults who were injured are parishioners in their 80s, officials said. "This was a deliberate act of violence against innocent children and other people worshiping," O'Hara said. "The sheer cruelty and cowardice of firing into a church full of children is absolutely incomprehensible."Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said the shooter approached the side of the church and shot through the windows toward the children sitting in the pews during mass. Officers reported that the gunman had a pistol, a rifle, and a shotgun, and they believe he fired all three weapons.The White House said President Donald Trump and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz spoke on the phone following what the president described as a "tragic shooting."“It’s my strongest desire that no state, no community, no school ever experiences a day like this,” Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said.President Trump ordered flags at half-staff for all federal government buildings until sunset on Sunday “as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence.”
