Annunciation Catholic School’s ‘buddy system’ saved lives as older students looked out for younger ones during massacre

“So for instance, seventh graders get, say, a third and a first grader, and they walk to church, school Mass, with each buddy [holding] a hand, and they sit next to them in church, teach them how to do church,” Michael Burt, a father of five who all go to the Catholic school, told NPR. The children were in the pews of the Annunciation Church when gunfire erupted, leading to the death of two children and the injury of 18 others, 15 of them being children between the ages of 6 and 15.

"The first action by those middle schoolers was to push their buddies down under the pew," Burt added. "Which is why the middle schoolers were the ones that were standing the longest and were largely the injured, acting in heroism … and then covering the little ones under the pews."

"I can tell you that all the kids at the school are kids to all of us," he added. "They are amazing human beings, amazing people in our community. And their kids will be mourned by all of us." Footage showed older students rushing the younger ones out the doors of the church. Many of the children were visibly distraught in the footage.

Annunciation Catholic School principal Matthew DeBoer credited the older students and the adults for saving the lives of the younger kids. "Adults were protecting children, older children were protecting younger children," he said. "It could have been significantly worse without their heroic actions."

One older child was struck in the back with a "shotgun blast" while shielding another student, Marty Scheerer, chief of Hennepin Emergency Medical Services, told reporters.

Shooter Robin (Robert) Westman opened fire and then committed suicide in the chaos. The trans-identified male had posted disturbing YouTube videos leading up to the shooting, in which phrases such as "Kill Donald Trump" and "Where is your God now?" were written on magazines and firearms. The weaponry also had a list of mass shooters on it.