Minnesota Lynx head coach Cheryl Reeve has had enough thoughts and prayers.
Following a mass shooting at a Minneapolis Catholic Church that left two children dead and at least 17 people injured less than seven miles from the Lynx’s Target Center on Wednesday, Aug. 27, Reeve condemned the ‘lack of regard for life’ in our country.
‘When we would go to school, we trained for tornados. Kids today train for active shooters,’ Reeve said. “It’s such an indictment of our society, our lack of regard for life. There are things that we can do about it, and we don’t, but for some reason as Americans we value something different. It’s sickening, it’s sad for the kids.’
Reeve continued: ‘It’s sad for the kids that have to grow up like this. …The sad thing is we can’t sit here and tell them that help is on the way, because we’re not going to do a damn thing about it.’
LIVE UPDATES: Minneapolis shooter fired into church pews, killing 2 children
The shooting occurred at Annunciation Church, which also houses a school, just before 8:30 a.m., authorities said. The shooter approached the outside of the church building and fired inside toward the children sitting in pews, Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said. Two children aged 8 and 10 were killed, while fourteen of the 17 injured were children. The assailant died of a self-inflicted wound at the rear of the church, O’Hara said.
Reeve said many parents, including members of the Lynx staff, drop their kids off a school each day expecting them to be safe.
‘It’s sad for the kids to walk through the door and not know what’s going to happen,’ she added. ‘So hearts go out to the lives lost, kids that are hurt, teachers that have to go through this, families that drop their kids off at schools and don’t have their kid come home. Hearts go out to them.’
The Lynx joined Minnesota’s pro sports teams in issuing a statement on Wednesday.
‘As members of this community, we stand together in mourning,’ the Lyns said in a joint statement with the NBA’s Minnesota Timberwolves. ‘No child should feel unsafe in a place of learning and worship, and no family should endure such unimaginable loss.’
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