3:55 p.m. - Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell and General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah opened their news conference Thursday with condolences to those affected by the mass shooting.
“I pray that we don’t have to start a press conference like this again,” Adofo-Mensah said. “... And I pray that we break some of the divisiveness that’s involved right now that we’re in this cycle of inactivity towards being able to find solutions to solve some of these issues.”
O’Connell said Vikings coaches and front office staff were in the middle of discussions on the team’s roster construction when the news broke and they temporarily stopped their work.
Both O’Connell and Adofo-Mensah are fathers; two of O’Connell’s children are school-aged.
“It’s impossible for me to wrap my mind around what those parents are feeling,” O’Connell said. “I’m just absolutely heartbroken for them. No child should ever be lost to violence in any way.”