Bullet fragment found in boy's neck days after Annunciation Church shooting

As the shock begins to wear off, some families of children wounded Wednesday at Annunciation Church in Minneapolis are revealing details of their kids’ injuries on online fundraising sites. Others, including one girl grazed by a bullet, have spoken to reporters outside the church.

Stories of bravery and resilience are beginning to emerge as well. Some kids wounded during the shooting were protecting friends or their “little buddies” at school from a storm of bullets.

Fletcher Merkel, 8, and Harper Moyski, 10, were killed in the shooting. Of the 18 or more people who were injured, at least 15 were children. At least eight families have created GoFundMe pages.

Here is what we know about the students who were caught in the gunfire, just days after returning to the classroom from summer break:

Weston quickly became the face and the voice of youngsters who were inside Annunciation Church last week when gunfire broke out. He told reporters about his friend Victor Greenawalt (see below) shielding him from the barrage of gunfire.

At first, Weston seemingly came away physically unscathed. However, it turns out Weston “will need surgery to remove a bullet fragment that is lodged in his neck, dangerously close to his carotid artery,” his aunt, Allison Hawes, wrote on an online fundraising page she started for Weston’s family.

“You’ve been amazed by his quick wit, awed by his persistence, and charmed by his earnestness,” Hawes said. “If you’ve been watching the news, you’ve seen his grief-stricken face and heard, despite his shock, Weston’s account of the horrific details during the mass at Annunciation Church. And in spite of everything, this 10-year-old boy was able to express appreciation for his friends and pray for their recovery.”

When fifth-grader Weston spoke to reporters after Wednesday’s shooting, he recounted that his brave friend Victor “laid on top of me” to shield Weston from the bullets and ended up getting hit.

Victor Greenawalt’s uncle, Mike Kelly, said his nephew’s “selfless acts” helped spare the lives of his friends.

“But he and his sister were injured in the process,” Kelly wrote on an online fundraising site. “Vic, along with his family, have started the long journey of recovery. A journey that involves unknown and ongoing future medical costs.”

A sign seen Thursday at a memorial outside the church that someone drew said, simply, “Thank You Victor.”

Genevieve Bisek was shot in the neck, and the 11-year-old’s “medical journey is uncertain,” according to an online fundraising campaign begun on behalf of the family. A spokesperson at HCMC said Genevieve was in satisfactory condition as of midday Friday.

“This courageous child, her family, and the entire community are struggling to comprehend the unimaginable,” the campaign’s posting read. “Genevieve’s older sister was also present during the tragedy, bravely helping her Mass buddy to safety. She now carries the emotional weight of that day, questioning if she will ever feel the same again.”

One of the children wounded was taken to the hospital where her mother was working as a nurse. Seventh-grader Sophia Forchas remained at HCMC on Friday in critical condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.

According to an online fundraising campaign started to help the family with medical and other expenses, Sophia’s mother, Amy Forchas, is a pediatric critical care nurse who reported for work in response to the shooting.

Amy Forchas showed up at HCMC “before knowing it was her children’s school that was attacked and that her daughter was critically injured,” a posting on the campaign’s webpage read.

Also at the scene at the time was Sophia’s younger brother, Anthony, the posting disclosed. The fundraising campaign includes a photo of Sophia and Anthony, a fourth-grader, together outside the school and wearing their uniforms and big smiles.

“Though he was physically unharmed,” the posting continued, “the trauma of witnessing such a terrifying event — and knowing his sister was critically injured — is something no child should ever experience.”

Twelve-year-old Lydia Kaiser was wounded while protecting her “little buddy” during Annunciation’s first Mass of the school year, according to an online fundraising campaign started to help Lydia’s family with medical and other expenses.

Her father, Harry Kaiser, is an Annunciation gym teacher and “was also in attendance and helped to secure the room, to keep children safe, and stuck with them all until they were reunited with their families, even while his daughter was entering the emergency room.”

“Lydia and Harry are 2 heroes in our midst,” a posting on the campaign’s page read. The posting noted that Lydia was in “very serious condition and has undergone an unimaginable surgery.”

Natalie Davis said her family’s world “was turned upside down” when her 13-year-old nephew was shot at the church Wednesday. In a posting on an online fundraising campaign on behalf of Endre Gunter’s family, Davis wrote that the eighth-grader was shot twice while attending Mass.

“It’s impossible to make sense of this act of violence against children, in a place that should have been a sanctuary of peace and safety,” Davis wrote.

“In the face of unimaginable fear and pain, Endre showed strength and faith beyond his years.”

Davis said that before Endre went into surgery, he asked the doctor, “‘Can you say a prayer with me?’”

Despite being shot, 9-year-old Vivian St. Clair remained resilient through the most terrifying moments.

An online fundraising campaign started on behalf of Vivian’s family noted that despite being shot in her back and her arm, she “ran from the church to the school gym, where a police officer scooped her up and rushed her to an ambulance.”

Vivian was taken to HCMC, where her mother works, the posting continued. “Through it all, she continues to smile and radiate sweetness,” the campaign read.

“She’s been telling people how excited she is to swim at her grandma’s pool in Arizona (Thursday) evening with her dad, Joe — just showing how innocent and hopeful she remains.”

Six-year-old David Haeg has undergone surgery and has more days ahead being cared for in a hospital pediatric intensive care unit, according to an online fundraiser started on behalf of his family.

“His road to recovery will be long, but he is showing incredible strength and resilience,” the online posting read. “In the midst of this unimaginable time, the last thing David’s family should have to worry about is mounting medical expenses.”

On Thursday while visiting a memorial at Annunciation, Astoria Safe, 10, placed a stuffed animal on a display for one of her friends, Harper Moyski, who was killed in the attack. A shot grazed Astoria on the forehead, and a bullet fragment was lodged there. Doctors deemed it too dangerous to remove but said it wouldn’t cause long-term problems.

Astoria told a reporter she’s feeling OK. She also described how she helped pull two other kids down next to her when the bullets started flying.

“I had two buddies side by side, and I just pushed their heads down to make sure they were safe,” she said. “I thought it was fireworks, it was just crazy. And the smell was terrible.”

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(Louis Krauss of the Minnesota Star Tribune contributed to this report.)

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