Witnesses describe pictures of the Catholic School of Minneapolis

Witnesses of mass shooting in Minneapolis in the United States described “horrific” scenes after the attacker opened fire on the church in which the children celebrated Mass on Wednesday morning.

One young boy described that he was protected by a friend who got himself.

Two children were killed and 17 were injured in the incident that the FBI treats as an anti -Catholic crime on hatred.

The attacker, named 23-year-old Robin Westman, died at the scene of a firearm. The authorities have not yet given the suspect.

Westman was a former student of the school adjacent to the church, CNN reports. The mother of the attacker has previously worked at the institution, the school newsletter has been reported since 2016.

The young survived, 10-year-old Weston Hels, explained the affiliate CBS station that his friend had saved him from bullets and lay on him.

“I was like two seats from the stained glass,” he said. “My friend, Victor, saved me because he put on me, but he suffered.”

He continued: “My friend got into the back, he went to the hospital … I was very scared for him, but I think he’s ok now.”

Weston said he and his classmates were well punched in what to do in the shooting – but not that they were. “We practice this every month, but not in the church, only at school,” he said.

It is assumed that the suspect Westman approached the side of the Church of the Annunciation, which also housed the school, and fired dozens of shots through the windows using three firearms. Police also found smoke at the scene.

Officials are investigating whether there were shots from the inside of the building or outside, noting that there was no casing inside.

The locals described their confusion when they heard the shots were released. One person, Mike Harry, told NBC News that he believed that it was a sound of a nail gun on a nearby construction site.

Bill Bieneman, who lives in two quarters, talked to the journalists near the stage and reminded of the moment: “I said there was no way to be fire because so much of that.”

Another local PJ Mudd resident, who worked at home on Wednesday morning, told The Wall Street Journal that he heard three booms. “It suddenly realized me – it was a shooting.”

Then Mad ran to the church, where he saw three cartridges with magazines on the ground.

Witnesses, including Mr. Garriti, also described the horrific spectacle of children who leave the church covered with blood.

Another neighbor, Patrick Rkallen, told the BBC that he saw three children running around the building – one of them a girl with a head wound.

“She kept saying,” Please hold my hand, don’t leave me, “and I said I’m not going anywhere.”

The nanny who works nearby said she was relieved to see how some children leave the building untouched, but it was broken “views on the faces alone.”

“You see the video on the Internet, but it does not compare it with it and witness personally,” said Medi Brandt NBC. “It was rude … It’s awful.”

On Wednesday night, hundreds of people attended a vigil for the victims at another nearest school.

It is expected that those who were injured in the shooting and some have already been released from the hospital.

One mother said CNN that she was not affected by the incident with her children, but that she had “such ambiguous feelings now”.

Carl Maldonad said that “incredibly sad and evil, that it should be a thing in any school.” She continued to say, “The life that was lost (is) too much. One is too much. It’s not okay.”

Minnesota Governor Tim Waltz suggested similar sentiments, saying that the situation was “too common – not only in Minnesota but also across the country.”

Waltz said US President Donald Trump and his team expressed their “deep condolences” and offered assistance.

Later, Trump said the US flag would fly for six months in the White House as the victim’s respect.

Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope, was one of those who paid tribute to the young victims, saying he was “deeply upset” by the attack.

By giving updates on a press conference on Wednesday, the police chief Brian O’Har said that the attacker had no “wide -known criminal history” and acted alone.

Police say he found a “manifesto”, which was timed to Westman on YouTube during the shooting. The FBI helped the officials and removed it.

The name Westman was legally changed from Robert to Robin in 2020, the Minnesota court records. In the statement, the judge wrote: “A small child is identified as a woman and wants her name to reflect this identification.”