Six-year-old David Haeg survived the deadly mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church in Minneapolis. But his mother knows that her son has been profoundly reshaped by what he experienced after bullets shattered the peace of morning Mass.
“It’s going to be a long time before we are back to normal,” Brittany Haeg told NBC News on Thursday, a week after a 23-year-old opened fire into the church’s stained-glass windows, killing two children and injuring 21 other people.
David suffered a gunshot wound to his abdomen, his mother said. The bullet tore his spleen. Two other bullets grazed the back of his head, and bits of shrapnel were found across the left side of his body, including his arm and leg.
Brittany described David as a bright and bubbly first grader with a fondness for art and playing outdoors. But since his surgery and hospitalization, he has grappled with “very big feelings” he does not entirely comprehend…