SAN ANTONIO – The tragic Catholic church shooting in Minneapolis is hitting home for San Antonio police chief William McManus.
He served as Minneapolis’ police chief for years before coming to San Antonio.
That shooting killed two children, hurting 17 more. In an exclusive interview, McManus said there are never any words for a tragedy like this. He also shared he’d even visited the church where the shooting happened.
McManus was the Minneapolis police chief from 2004 to 2006. He said he still has connections there to this day, and quickly made calls to check on his friends and former colleagues.
“My question to them was, ‘Everybody, okay, up there? Everybody, all right, you know, in the aftermath of this?’,” he said. “A lot of sadness, lot of wondering how the heck could this have happened here. How could it have happened in a church? But you know, again, you there’s not even words to describe how tragic this was.”
He said SAPD is staying on its toes, keeping an eye on any local threats.
“Hopefully what happened there will never happen here,” McManus said. “If there is something that someone would plan to do here, we would get wind of it and be able to prevent it.”
The Chief also offered his full support and condolences to the Minneapolis community and those touched by this tragedy — saying hearing this kind of news about a community he was once part of hurts a little more.