NEED TO KNOW
- Two children were killed and 18 others were injured in a shooting at a Catholic school in Minneapolis
- A girl who had been shot in the head asked a bystander to hold her hand as he waited with her
- The two children who were killed were aged 8 and 10
A man who lives around the corner from the Minneapolis Catholic school where two children were killed and 18 other people were injured ran to the scene once he heard gunshots.
Pat Scallen told ABC News’ Good Morning America that after hearing a 10th gunshot, he realized what was going on and raced to the Annunciation Catholic School.
“It was eerily quiet,” he told GMA. “And then I immediately turned and ran to the front of the church, and right at that time everyone was coming out. And it was chaotic.”
Scallen then saw children coming out of the church, including a boy and girl who had been shot in the head and a girl that had been shot in the neck.
“Please just hold my hand,” the girl shot in the head said, according to Scallen, who said he held the child’s hand.
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“They were very frightened. They wanted their mom and dad,” he told GMA. “And I just, I sat them down and just tried to keep them calm, and I was watching them close to see if there’d be any change in their status.”
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Two children, aged 8 and 10, were killed in the shooting on Wednesday, Aug. 27. Eighteen other people, including 15 children, were wounded.
Minneapolis police chief Brian O’Hara said at a press conference that everyone who was injured in the shooting is expected to survive.
The shooter was identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman, who died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
O’Hara said Westman, who was armed with a rifle, shotgun and a pistol, fired shots from outside the church, striking students and worshippers.
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