ST. PAUL – State Representative Pam Altendorf (R-Red Wing) and 35 other state lawmakers have penned a letter to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) asking the agency to release the toxicology report of the Annunciation Church shooter who killed two children and injured many others.
“This was a traumatizing act of cowardice violence targeted at innocent children,” Altendorf said. “The Democrats rushed to politicize this event. However, since the initial information was given to the public, we have seen a startling absence of facts that the public deserves to know.”
“We should be examining every potential reason that this psychotic individual decided to plan and carry out a shooting in a Minneapolis church,” Altendorf continued. “Minnesotans deserve to know if the shooter was on a medication where the side effects could lead to suicidal or homicidal tendencies.”
In their toxicology report request to the BCA, the lawmakers noted: “Knowing the complete picture of what substances, legal and illegal, may have played a role in the perpetrator’s mental state would go a long way to understanding the factors that influenced the perpetrator’s motivations in committing this horrific act. It would also inform the public debate on the use of these drugs, as we and other legislators struggle to understand the effect of these drugs on our society.”
“If our goal is to truly deter heinous acts of violence such as this, then we must look at a complete picture and examine all contributing facts before reaching a conclusion,” Altendorf said. “Schools, families, children, and educators all deserve full transparency to understand all of the factors that caused this tragedy, which is why the toxicology information must be released to the public.”