She smelled smoke, heard a bang and then saw a broken window. Tween survivor recalls the fear and chaos of Minneapolis attack

“I Thought I Would Die”: Tween Survivor Recalls Terror of Minneapolis Church Attack
By Shimon Prokupecz and Rachel Clarke

Minneapolis, Minnesota — For a few brief hours Wednesday night, 11-year-old Chloe Francoual’s mind gave her a reprieve. Curled up in bed between her parents, she drifted off believing that the bullets, the screams, and the chaos she had lived through were nothing but a dream.

But by Thursday morning, reality returned. Two of her classmates were dead, several more were hospitalized, and the first Mass of the new school year at Annunciation Catholic Church had ended in bloodshed.

“I’m trying to stay really happy to get my mind off stuff, because it was really hard yesterday,” Chloe told CNN. “But my mind just keeps replaying it.”

Her father, Vincent, said talking with a counselor helped. Later, Chloe asked if she could share her story publicly too.

A Day That Was Meant to Be Joyful

The new school year had just begun, and the morning Mass was meant to be a celebration. Students wore their green polos and navy uniforms, older kids like Chloe proudly guiding their “buddies” from the younger grades. A new priest greeted them warmly, a teacher led prayers in English, then another in Spanish.

That’s when whispers began: “Do you smell smoke?”

And then—gunfire.

“At first, I thought it was a firework, like everybody else,” Chloe said. “But after the second and third shots, people started ducking. By the fourth shot, it just got faster and faster, and that’s when everybody panicked.”

Chaos in the Church

Chloe looked toward the stained-glass windows and saw sparks, then a hole. A gunman was firing from outside, bullets shattering the sanctuary where children sat at the front. Investigators later recovered more than 100 rifle rounds, along with handgun and shotgun ammunition.

Some students dove under pews. Others huddled behind pillars. Chloe and a group of children raced to a pre-K classroom, where they began barricading the door.

“Everybody’s instinct was just to block the door with anything we could,” she said. “We put tables, chairs—even crayon boxes. As little as it was, it helped.”

From inside, they heard one final gunshot, then footsteps. Terrified it was the shooter, they held their breath—until police burst through the door and led them outside.

“When they opened it, we smelled smoke, and then we saw everybody hurt,” Chloe said quietly.

A Father’s Fears

Sitting beside her in their backyard, Chloe’s father wipes away tears as his daughter speaks. He has already heard her admit she thought she was going to die. And while she seems resilient now, he knows the trauma will linger.

“She’s one of the lucky ones,” Vincent said softly.

For Chloe, the memories may never fully fade—the sound of bullets, the sight of broken glass, the fear that swept through her school. But in telling her story, she hopes to take back some measure of control from a day that changed everything.

Source: CNN NEWS