9-year-old Minneapolis shooting survivor describes hearing the gunshots: "I was worried about everybody getting hurt"
Two children were killed and 17 people were injured in a shooting on Wednesday during a Mass at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis that marked the beginning of the school year.
June Holine — a 9-year-old fourth grader — was inside the church, which is attached to a school building, when the shooting happened.
"I heard the noise and I kind of got scared at first," she said. "If, like, somebody did a firework that didn't launch off, like in your ear, that's kind of how loud it was."
June said she was sitting in the back of the church with her teacher, classmates and friends when the gunfire interrupted the Mass.
"I was scared about if I would get hurt. I was worried about everybody getting hurt and injured," she said.
June said her teacher jumped onto the floor.
"Then, me and my buddy just followed her and then she kind of grabbed my hand a little bit," she said.
Anders Holine, June's father, said he rushed to the school. His other daughter, Olive, a first grader, was also inside the church.
"I pulled into the parking lot and the shots were still going off," Anders Holine said. "I saw a dad who works at the school and I said, 'is the school locked down?' and he said there's a shooting at the church, and he said all the kids are in there, and I thought I was going to throw up."
Anders Holine described listening to June talk about the shooting as surreal.
"It's hard to believe that it was, you know, that we're in reality right now. The feeling that I had searching was easily, the worst feeling I've ever felt," Anders Holins said.
While his daughters are physically unharmed, Anders Holine said it will take time to figure out how to move forward and how the girls will return to school.
"I just wanna show my girls that they can be feeling whatever they want to feel," he said.
Shooting investigation
The FBI is investigating the shooting as domestic terrorism and as a hate crime against Catholics, FBI director Kash Patel said.
Law enforcement has identified the shooter as Robin Westman, 23, of suburban Minneapolis. Westman legally purchased three guns, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said, and did not have a prior criminal history.
The shooter died by suicide at the church, which is attached to a school building.
On "CBS Mornings" on Thursday, Mayor Jacob Frey called the situation an "unspeakable tragedy."
"We need to recognize that we love our children more than we love our guns," Frey said.