Gretchen Whitmer speaks at news conference after mass shooting

Let's go straight to Michigan, where police are giving an update on the shooting at a Mormon church in Michigan. At least four people were killed, eight others injured, after a gunman drove a vehicle into the church. And we may get an update on those numbers. Let's have a listen. For their brave actions to take down the shooter and their quick response, I think we can see the best of public service in all of these individuals. As I said, I'm here as the governor, but I'm also here as a fellow Michigander, whose heart is breaking by another mass shooting in a place that is supposed to be defined by togetherness, in a close-knit community here in Grand Blanc. As a state, we know the pain of this too well. We've seen gun violence in our schools, stores, parades, festivals, and our houses of worship. These are places that we go to feel connected, to feel safe, to be together. But today, this place has been shattered by bullets and broken glass. And this might be a familiar pain, but it hurts all the same. Every time. We cannot keep living our lives like this. I know that this community is reeling right now, and I want you to know that the state of Michigan has your back. Your grief is our grief. I ordered flags lowered statewide, and I spoke with President Trump yesterday, who wanted to share his condolences. We will be here every step of the way and coordinate a full response with our local and federal partners. Folks here at the township, at every level, have been working closely together. There's one thing I know about Michiganders. It's that we get through hard things together, and that's who we are. That's how the good people here at the Grand Blanc Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints live their lives. They worship together, they sing together, and they serve together. And that's why I was so proud to see powerful statements from interfaith leaders across Michigan denouncing this attack on a house of worship. They grieved for this congregation as though it was their own. They spoke with one voice for the basic principle that we all believe in, that you should be able to pray in peace in our state, no matter who you are. I know that in the hours and days ahead, we will see the best of Michigan. We will see neighbors being neighborly, checking in with a call, bringing over some food, or offering a hug. We'll see medical providers work hard to save lives and treat those in need with scars both seen and unseen. We will see this congregation unite and rally together like never before, and continue worshiping together, singing together, and serving together. Because that's who Michiganders are. We will stay in close contact and continue to work together. Now, like everyone I know, we have lots of questions. How could this happen? What created this moment? Why? And that's motivated by a genuine motivation to understand, to learn, to prevent in the future. But I want to caution everyone. While we are working hard, while the good men and women who are working hard are doing so with due diligence, at this juncture, speculation is unhelpful, and it can be downright dangerous. So, just ask that people lower the temperature of rhetoric. Keep your loved ones close, and keep this community close to your hearts. Let's keep doing the work together. Let's be kind, and let's love our neighbors. Thank you, and now I'd like to introduce the head of the Michigan State Police, Colonel James Gray. Thank you, Governor, and good afternoon. This community has been greatly impacted by yesterday's events. We are offering our deepest condolences to those affected by this tragedy. This horrific event is something that this community has never experienced. It is important at this time that we come together to support one another in this time of grief. We stand ready and willing to assist both our local and federal partners with any additional needs as this investigation continues. The Michigan State Police immediately responded alongside our public safety partners to secure the scene, provide support to our neighbors with our emergency support team serving search warrants, a bomb squad, and K-19s sweeping numerous locations for evidence and explosives. Additionally, our forensic science laboratories and our special investigation section continue to investigate the officer-involved shooting and work alongside our federal and local partners. I'd like to take a moment for everybody to remember the last year we put together an initiative called Stop the Plot. While we are committed to keeping our community safe, we also need your help. Again, it takes everybody. Fifty-three percent of mass attacks leave a trail of clues leading up to them, and two-thirds of mass attackers elicit a behavior that cause concerns. So we are asking our communities to stay vigilant, and if you see something suspicious, please contact local law enforcement or 911 immediately. We will keep the family in our prayers here at MSP as they continue to cover and we work together. Thank you for your time. Next up, we will have from the AT—thank you. We will have ATF Special Agent-in-Charge for Michigan, James Deere. Good afternoon. My name is Jim Deere with ATF. I'm the Special Agent-in-Charge for ATF Michigan. On behalf of the men and women of ATF, I offer my deepest sympathy and condolences to this community and to the families affected by this tragedy, this horrific act of violence. There is no place in our society for this. There's absolutely no place. But it's become all too common, and as we know, we have become more and more desensitized. This community is hurting, and we are here to help them heal. Part of that—as part of that healing process, ATF has brought in their National Response Team. This is a cadre of world-renowned investigators for arson and explosive incidents. They have been used all over the world, and they come from places as far as California, Hawaii, and they're here in Michigan now. They have—they arrived last night, they've briefed, they're examining the scene, and that is—that is what they're doing at this point. From ATF's perspective, I would encourage the community not to travel by the church. Those roads have been blocked off, and access is controlled. While that might be a little disheveling for folks, that—we need that scene security for our investigators as they dig out this scene. So with that in mind, that's our ask for the community. We are also looking at the explosive— improvised explosive devices that were recovered during this investigation, and looking towards that end as well. It's my—I need to introduce the acting special agent in charge for the FBI of Detroit, Michigan, Reuben Coleman. My name is Reuben Coleman. I'm the acting special agent in charge of FBI Detroit field office, which represents the entire state. At this time, we wanted to provide an update on investigative efforts regarding yesterday's tragic shooting at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blank, Michigan. First, I want to express my gratitude for all the cross-agency collaboration between our federal, state, and local partners. Their support has been outstanding and critical to this investigation. We are in lockstep with our partners as we continue to work through this. As I mentioned yesterday, the FBI is investigating this as an act of targeted violence, and we are continuing to work to determine a motive. In the past 24 hours, our investigative squads and specialty teams have been out all night, exhausting leads, some of which have been coming in from the public via tips. Our special agents, victim specialists, child advocate forensic interviewers, and local partners have interviewed over 100 victims and witnesses to date and are continuing to interview individuals as we speak. Our evidence response team, or ERT, which is a specialized team of special agents, intelligence analysts, and professional staff are trained to process crime scenes and collect evidence. They were out all night and continue processing the scene as we speak. Our field office has stood up national equities for support. We are engaging with our behavioral analyst unit, or BAU, and have received support from our chronicle labs division to analyze evidence collected to date. We received assistance from our FBI field offices across the country to support this case and file down leads. While our focus is on this investigation, we want to continue to keep the victims and their families in our thoughts as they navigate through this incredibly difficult time. Please continue to reach out to the FBI via 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit tips at tips.fbi.gov. Thank you. Chief? You prepare in peace to perform in chaos. I saw it live. I saw what you trained for, what you planned for, and the reality hit yesterday morning on a bright sunny day when people went to worship. But what I also saw is every level of government law enforcement work together for the good of the people. What I witnessed was people putting their lives at risk. They had two months on the job as an EMT, or brand new firefighters, veteran firefighters, and law enforcement just to bring a sense of stability to a scene that was chaotic and dynamic. As the sheriff of this county, I see the great people every day, but I want this community to know that those ranks and those agencies that were mentioned before me, we worked together. We worked in concert, and we did the job. And there's more to do. I will tell you, the sheriff's office dedicated every county sheriff medic that we had available, patrol, investigators. We did interviews, emergency management. Whatever the task was needed, the sheriff's office worked with everybody that you heard and many that you don't know to bring justice and also order to this scene. But I will tell you, the days are continuing. We have 31 marked cars on as we speak, making sure schools that are in session and churches that are planning Bible studies, regardless of faith-based, that they will be protected. Anybody who calls in, we will be there, like other law enforcement, to settle the community and bring a sense of calmness to people. There is an uncertainty, but law enforcement, especially the sheriff's office, will bring that to you. I will tell you that there are noble heroes who do not wear a uniform that went to that church yesterday. You're going to hear their stories as we lay out this case with law enforcement, but I will tell you this, those heroes from that church did their job. And it was led because of a police department. So law enforcement from this township is led by a chief who demonstrated leadership right out of the gate. And my honor is to announce him as the final speaker, Chief Rennie of Grambling Township.