On Wednesday, August 27, young and innocent students woke up in hopes of experiencing an ordinary day of classes, since it had only been their first week of school. Many children were excited to see their friends, play in the playground, learn new things, and attend their usual Mass—little did they know that right before 8:30 a.m., it would become the 44th school shooting in the US this year.
The attack on Wednesday morning had been specified by FBI Director Kash Patel as “an act of domestic terrorism motivated by hate-filled ideology,” according to BBC News, and it was the fourth deadly shooting in Minneapolis in roughly 24 hours. The children were attacked in their Catholic school’s church as they were initially attending worship service to celebrate their first week of school, which expressed the theme of “A future filled with hope,” according to CNN. Their church was supposed to serve as their safe space in which they could pray in tranquility; in fact, above the Annunciation Church’s doors, their safe haven is declared as “the House of God and the Gate of Heaven.”
The shooter destroyed what should’ve been their sanctuary by approaching the side of the church and firing through the glass-stained windows, using three firearms, and additionally, the police found a smoke bomb at the scene—all while the children were sitting in the pews, attending Mass. Investigators claim that the shooter specifically targeted the students, as two children were killed and 14 others were injured; three other parishioners in their 80s were injured as well. It was the church’s policy of locking the doors at the start of Mass that prevented the deaths of numerous people.
Witnesses encountered many bleeding children fleeing the scene, asking strangers for help. Patrick Scallen, who lives close to the church and was an alumnus of the Annunciation school, saw three children who were undoubtedly injured, running from the building; from the three, he had helped, one of them was a girl whose forehead had been scraped from the bullet and another girl whose neck had been shot. According to BBC News, one of the girls said, “Please hold my hand, don’t leave me,” to which Scallen reassured her by saying that he wasn’t going anywhere. Scallen was relieved that they were alert and communicating; he was relieved that they were alive, and he continued to reassure them by informing them that he was “going to call [their] Mom and Dad” and “let them know.” He told them with hope that they were “going to be OK,” according to CNN. They were children, they were innocent—until they endured the unimaginable horrors occurring right before their eyes. Their minds were too young to comprehend such hatred; they couldn’t help but ask Scallen impenetrable questions: “How could this happen? Why did this happen?” It is truly disheartening to admit that Scallen and the rest of us did not have the answers as to this day, it is incomprehensible to humanity itself.
The killer has been suspected to be 23-year-old Robin Westman, who died at the scene from a gunshot wound that was self-inflicted. Due to current gun control laws, the guns used in the attack were all legally purchased. Additionally, the shooter was not on the “government’s watchlist,” and the investigators were not informed of any mental health conditions or treatments that she was receiving. Unexpectedly, this particular shooter had close ties to the school and the church, as in the past she was a pupil there, and her mother, Mary Grace Westman, was an employee at the school, who currently has not replied to any of the law enforcement’s efforts to communicate with her. It was evident to the people and the investigating officer, Chief Brian O’Hara, that despite the killer not having a specific motive, she was fueled by hate towards various groups, including religious ones.
The children, the parents, and the faculty members who were in the midst of this tragedy won’t ever forget this. The memory of eight-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski will always be remembered and will serve as a reminder of the damage utter hatred can cause to such innocent lives. In addition to the tragic losses, students will never forget the feeling of seeing their friends being shot and being wounded. Weston Halse, a 10-year-old boy, explained to reporters that he was only sitting two seats away from the windows when the shots were fired; he was sitting so close to the threat that he could have gunpowder on his neck. The fifth grader couldn’t even recognize the sound of the first one; it wasn’t until he heard the second one that he ran under the pew. He was saved because his own friend managed to lie on top of him—this led to his friend being shot in the back. “He’s really brave, and I hope he’s good in the hospital,” Weston hoped.
As a result, lawmakers, such as the Minneapolis mayor Jacob Frey, appealed for the state to legislate a ban on violating weapons and “high-capacity ammo magazines.”
Yes, children wake up excitedly to go to school, see their friends, play in the playground, and learn new things; however, we would’ve never guessed that kids in the US would have to be trained to prepare for mass shootings. As parents send their children off to school every day, some of them cannot help but worry whether they will return home safely. Among the 44 schools that experienced a shooting in this country, students had gone into school as innocent kids and returned as grown-ups.
