Witnesses to a mass shooting in the US city of Minneapolis have described the terrifying scenes after an attacker opened fire on a church in which children were celebrating Mass on Wednesday morning. One young boy described being protected by a friend who got hit himself. Two children were killed and 17 others injured in an incident that the FBI is treating as an anti-Catholic hate crime.
The attacker, named as 23-year-old Robin Westman, died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities have not yet given a suspected motive.
Westman was a former pupil of the school that is adjacent to the church. The young survivor, 10-year-old Weston Halsne, explained that his friend saved him from bullets by lying on top of him. I was like two seats away from the stained glass window, he said. My friend, Victor, saved me though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit.
Locals described their confusion when they heard the shots ring out. Many believed the sounds were from nearby construction until the reality of the situation became clear. Several children emerged from the building bloodied and shaken, with witnesses recalling their horror at witnessing such an event unfold. Hundreds of community members later gathered for a vigil, as the state mourned the senseless loss of life and the ongoing threat of gun violence in America.
The attacker, named as 23-year-old Robin Westman, died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Authorities have not yet given a suspected motive.
Westman was a former pupil of the school that is adjacent to the church. The young survivor, 10-year-old Weston Halsne, explained that his friend saved him from bullets by lying on top of him. I was like two seats away from the stained glass window, he said. My friend, Victor, saved me though, because he laid on top of me, but he got hit.
Locals described their confusion when they heard the shots ring out. Many believed the sounds were from nearby construction until the reality of the situation became clear. Several children emerged from the building bloodied and shaken, with witnesses recalling their horror at witnessing such an event unfold. Hundreds of community members later gathered for a vigil, as the state mourned the senseless loss of life and the ongoing threat of gun violence in America.
