For the 15 young students still recovering from the mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis, there’s a long road to healing ahead.
This is especially true for 10-year-old Weston Halsne, a student who shared his story with WCCO’s Caroline Cummings and news stations across the country just hours after the attack that killed 8-year-old Fletcher Merkel and 10-year-old Harper Moyski.
Halsne credited his friend for saving his life after he laid over him as a human shield. However, doctors recently discovered a bullet fragment lodged in Halsne’s neck, dangerously close to an artery.
He will need surgery to get it removed, and his family has started a GoFundMe to help cover medical costs.
Halsne told WCCO he was just two seats away from the church’s stained-glass windows when the shooter fired through. He said he could feel something like “gunpowder on his neck.”
“My friend Victor like, saved me though. Because he laid on top of me. But he got hit,” Halsne said. “I was super scared for him.”
Halsne also shared a special message for his friend.
“I hope you’re OK and I’m praying for you,” Halsne said.
He also recounted the moment he was reunited with his mother.
“I was super happy, because like, I was scared that I wasn’t going to see her. Because I didn’t know what was happening really, I was just in shock,” Halsne said.
Halsne’s grandfather, Michael Simpson, also spoke with WCCO on Wednesday afternoon.
“Inexplainable and it happens way too much. And when it happens to your own children, then you’re going to think very differently about this,” Simpson said. “There’s only one way to think about it. There’s nothing this precious little boy ever did to deserve this.”
If you’re looking to help and don’t know where to start, click here to find WCCO’s list of how you can support the victims.
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