‘Thought it was fireworks in church, and then…’: Eyewitnesses recount horror of Minneapolis school shooting | World News

Students and teachers at Annunciation Catholic School in south Minneapolis had gathered for morning Mass on Wednesday (Aug 27), to celebrate the start of a new school year when Robin Westman opened fire on the crowd.Armed with a rifle, shotgun, and pol, the 23-year-old shooter fired dozens of rounds through church windows around 8.30 am local time, killing two children, aged 8 and 10 and wounding 17 others.
Recounting horrific moments of confusion and panic, Clarissa Garcia, a fifth-grade student at the school, told ABC’s KSTP-TV, “I was just at church and I heard something really loud. I thought it was fireworks in the church, and then I saw the shooting, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m so scared.’”
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Sitting in a pew close to the stained window, 10-year-old Weston escaped injury, but said that he felt he had some gunpowder on his neck.
One of his friends, sitting next to him, was shot in the back.
“I was super scared for him, but I think now he’s OK,” Weston said.
A teacher took Clarissa and other students downstairs to a preschool classroom, where she said she kept praying for everyone’s safety.Story continues below this ad
“I hope nobody got, like, killed or something like that or, like, hurt. I was just praying if everybody could be safe and, like, nobody would do this again,” Clarissa said.
‘This is a nightmare’: The principal of the Minnesota Catholic school
Annunciation Catholic School Principal Matt DeBoer described the incident as “a nightmare” and lauded the staff for jumping into action when the gunfire erupted.
“This is a nightmare, but we call our staff the dream team, and we will recover from this,” DeBoer said. “We will rebuild from this.”Story continues below this ad
“To any of our students and families, and staff watching right now, I love you. You’re so brave, and I’m so sorry this happened to us today,” he added.
Calling the teachers “heroes”, DeBoer called for action and implored people to support the young victims of the school shooting.
“Within seconds of this situation beginning, our teachers were heroes,” DeBoer continued. “Children were ducked down. Adults were protecting children. Older children were protecting younger children, and as we heard earlier, it could have been significantly worse without their heroic action.”
“We, as a community, have a responsibility to make sure that no child, no parent, no teacher ever has to experience what we’ve experienced today. Ever again,” he said. “I need everybody to commit those words to your speech patterns. Never again.”Story continues below this ad
Following the incident, Westman was found dead from what police believe was a self-inflicted gunshot.
Police said Westman had legally purchased the weapons and acted alone, with no prior criminal record.
(With inputs from agencies)