NEED TO KNOW
- Minneapolis, Minn., shooting survivor Javen Willis, 13, opened up about his experience during the horrifying incident on Aug. 27
- A shooter opened fired on the Annunciation Church, killing two children and injuring 17 others
- Several children recalled thinking the shots were fireworks
The deadly shooting in Minneapolis, Minn. at the Annunciation Church has left a lasting impression on the students who were in the church when gunfire burst through the stained glass windows.
Two children were killed and 17 others were injured in the incident, which took place during the first mass of the school year at Annunciation Catholic School.
“I heard something really loud. I thought it was fireworks in the church,” 5th grade student Clarrisa Garcia said on local channel KSTP. “And then I saw the shooting. And then I was like, ‘Oh my gosh. I’m so scared.’ ”
Eighth grader Javen Willis shared that his classmates were similarly under the impression that the loud sounds and shattered glass were more celebratory.
“Right when I heard the shots, I knew something was off,” Willis shared on the Today show on Aug. 28. “A lot of my classmates thought it was confetti and fireworks, but I didn’t think they’d have that during the middle of the church service.”
Willis sprang into action, helping shield his friends and classmates amid the shooting.
“Honestly, at that point, I was just like, ‘I want to keep everybody as safe as possible.’ So I told me and my two buddies to get down and to get under the pew,” he said. “Right when I told them that, it was like a state of shock for me. And I knew I had to keep as many people around me as I could safe.”
The teen leaned on his faith to help him through.
“Right when it happened, I dropped down under the pew like I said, and I prayed. I said my few prayers,” he recalled. “And I realized I can’t just sit here and focus on myself, knowing that with God on my side, I will be fine. Just try to help out my fellow classmates, keep them calm and safe and let them know that they will be okay.”
Javen’s mother, Melissa, joined him for the interview and was visibly emotional throughout, calling the experience of hearing about the shooting “terrifying.”
“You just never think that this was going to be your reality,” she said, as Javen wrapped his arm around her, comforting her. “I just cried. I just thanked God and cried and held him. Thankfully, I was one of the ones who did get to see my kid when I got there.”
The shooter has been identified as 23-year-old Robin Westman. Westman died at the scene from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
According to NBC affiliate KARE 11, Westman’s mother was an employee at the school on the south side of Minneapolis up until she retired in 2021. It’s also believed Westman attended the school for at least one year and had been there in the last week while teachers prepared for the upcoming school year, per the outlet.
The two children killed — an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old — were pronounced dead at the scene.
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