Witnesses to a mass shooting in the US state 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 provided a suspected motive.
Westman was a former pupil of the school that is adjacent to the church. The attacker's mother previously worked at the establishment, according to a school newsletter from 2016. The young survivor, 10-year-old Weston Halsne, explained to CBS affiliate station WCCO 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.'
Weston said he and his classmates were well-drilled in what to do in a shooting situation but not in the environment in which they found themselves. 'We practise it every month, but not in church, only in the school,' he said.
The suspect Westman is believed to have approached the church and fired dozens of shots through the windows using three firearms. Police also found a smoke bomb at the scene. Officials are investigating whether the shots were fired from inside the building or outside it.
Witnesses described their confusion when they heard the shots. One man, Mike Garrity, said he thought it could have been construction noise. Locals recounted horrifying scenes of children fleeing the church, some covered in blood. Hundreds attended a vigil for the victims in the evening, while Minnesota Governor Tim Walz expressed solidarity and listed the situation as an all-too-common occurrence.
The community is left to grapple with the tragedy as investigations continue into the attacker's motivations, shedding light on a grim chapter of gun violence in America.
Westman was a former pupil of the school that is adjacent to the church. The attacker's mother previously worked at the establishment, according to a school newsletter from 2016. The young survivor, 10-year-old Weston Halsne, explained to CBS affiliate station WCCO 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.'
Weston said he and his classmates were well-drilled in what to do in a shooting situation but not in the environment in which they found themselves. 'We practise it every month, but not in church, only in the school,' he said.
The suspect Westman is believed to have approached the church and fired dozens of shots through the windows using three firearms. Police also found a smoke bomb at the scene. Officials are investigating whether the shots were fired from inside the building or outside it.
Witnesses described their confusion when they heard the shots. One man, Mike Garrity, said he thought it could have been construction noise. Locals recounted horrifying scenes of children fleeing the church, some covered in blood. Hundreds attended a vigil for the victims in the evening, while Minnesota Governor Tim Walz expressed solidarity and listed the situation as an all-too-common occurrence.
The community is left to grapple with the tragedy as investigations continue into the attacker's motivations, shedding light on a grim chapter of gun violence in America.
