Mom of 6-year-old injured in Minneapolis church shooting describes his ordeal
Mom of 6-year-old injured in Minneapolis church shooting describes his ordeal
David Haeg was once a bubbly first grader, said his mother, Brittany Haeg, who is calling for tougher gun control laws.
Parents of Minneapolis church victims share how shooting has impacted their children
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Sept. 4, 2025, 3:38 PM MST / Updated Sept. 4, 2025, 6:19 PM MST
By Selina Guevara and Daniel Arkin
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.
“He gets upset, sad, clingy … and also just mad,” Brittany said. “You know, for someone so little to experience something and to not be able to fully understand or explain or communicate about what happened — all those feelings come out in lots of ways.”
David’s care team at the Hennepin County Medical Center coached his family on how to talk about the shooting with him. Be honest and validate his emotions but keep it simple, they advised. Their words of reassurance: “The bad guy is gone and can’t hurt you anymore.”
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Brittany is attuned to the signs of David’s traumatic ordeal. When two of his teachers came to see him in the hospital, he seemed withdrawn and stared off into space, though he “came back to himself” as the visit went on. He was nervous to leave the facility and return home.
David has started walking around unassisted. He is normally “incredibly energetic,” though he gets tired more easily since the shooting, Brittany said.
Brittany is trying to take things day by day and spend time with her family. In the long term, she said, she hopes state and federal lawmakers take more aggressive steps around gun control.
“I hope that Minnesota lawmakers make change. I ho
