They went to pray with their school
friends and never came home. Harper
Moyski, aged 10, and Fletcher Merkel,
two years younger.
>> A coward decided to take our 8-year-old
son, Fletcher, away from us.
Because of their actions, we will never
be allowed to hold him, talk to him,
play with him, and watch him grow into
the wonderful young man he was on the
path to becoming.
>> Where are they?
>> This video captures the moment some
pupils fled in terror, others diving for
cover when the gunfire interrupted
morning mass.
At that point, I was like, I want to try
to keep as everybody as safe as
possible. So, I told me and my two
buddies to get down and to get under the
pew. And right when I told them that, it
was like a state of shock for me. And I
knew that I had to try to keep as many
people around me as I could safe.
>> 15 other children and three elderly
parishioners were wounded in what the
FBI is investigating as an act of
domestic terrorism. The shooter, named
as Robin Westman, had posted a gruesome
manifesto online before firing more than
a hundred rounds. One thing is clear,
and it's going to be hard to hear, but
it's important to the question of why
this happened.
More than anything, the shooter wanted
to kill children.
Defenseless children.
The shooter was obsessed with the idea
of killing children.
The shooting in the first week of the
academic year has prompted renewed calls
for a ban on assault weapons.
>> Of course, we're standing up with
thoughts and with prayers,
but thoughts and prayers are not going
to cut it.
It's on all of us to see this through so
that there is an action so that
something like this never happens again.
In a statement, Harper Mo's family
demanded action on gun violence and
mental health to ensure their daughter
and Fletcher Merkel don't just become
statistics.
Give your kids an extra hug and kiss
today.
We love you, Fletcher. You'll always be
with us.
Lives cut short and another community
forever changed by gun violence. David
Blevens, Sky News.