Weston Halsne was sitting next to the windows of the Church of Annunciation when a volley of bullets suddenly shattered the stained-glass panes.

As gunfire continued to tear through the Minneapolis church, the ten-year-old ran and hid under one of the wooden pews facing the altar and covered his head.

As he cowered in terror away from the gunfire, his friend Victor lay across him. He credits him with saving his life.

“He laid on top of me, but he got hit,” he said. “He was really brave”.

Moments before gunfire sprayed the hall, Annunciation Catholic School pupils had been filing into the church, filled with the excitement of the first morning Mass of the school year.