At a press conference on Thursday, authorities said they do not have a direct motive for why a gunman killed two children and injured many others at a Minneapolis Catholic school, but that it was clear the individual wanted "notoriety" and "wanted to kill children."
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said they have uncovered hundreds of pieces of evidence, including electronic and written records, as they continue to investigate the shooter's motive.
"In short, the shooter appeared to hate all of us," said Acting U.S. Attorney Joe Thompson for the District of Minneapolis.
Authorities said the shooter's writings outlined "pure indiscriminate hate," an obsession with other mass murderers and their apparent mental state in hundreds of writings found at three residences associated with the gunman.
“One thing is clear. It’s going to be hard to hear. But it’s important to the question of why this happened. More than anything, the shooter wanted to kill children. Defenseless children. The shooter was obsessed with the idea of killing children," said Thompson.
Authorities are working to confirm their belief that the shooter acted alone.
Officials said the shooter previously attended Mass at the church they targeted and attended the same school. They confirmed that the shooter's mother had worked for the parish at one time.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said Thursday that the number of victims, including an 8-year-old child and a 10-year-old child who were killed, in the shooting was 20.
Those who were injured included children between the ages of 6 and 15, and three adults who were in their 80s.
O’Hara said some of the injured children have already been released from the hospital, noting that injuries ranged from minor graze wounds to life-threatening cases.
The suspected shooter died by suicide. Police said the shooter was armed with three different firearms during the shooting that were all obtained legally: an assault rifle, a shotgun and a handgun.
Police said 116 rifle rounds and three shotgun shells were recovered from the scene. Officers also found a live round in the handgun found at the scene that appeared to have jammed when the shooter attempted to use it.
Officials said on Thursday that the actions of first responders, doctors, teachers and the children themselves during Wednesday’s mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic school helped save lives. Hennepin County EMS Chief Marty Scheerer said, "We had one kid that covered up another kid and took a shotgun blast to his back."
Hennepin Healthcare announced on Thursday morning that it was caring for nine patients from Wednesday's shooting. Of those, two are in serious condition and one is in critical condition.
School leaders have not announced when classes will resume. "As we process and navigate this unfathomable time together, we will be in touch this weekend regarding when school will resume. Investigators and others are still on campus doing their essential work and we expect this to continue for some time," principal Matthew D. DeBoer and Pastor Dennis Zehren wrote in a joint statement.
