Three students from Cashmere High School were at the Al Noor Mosque for Friday prayers when an attacker burst in as part of a rampage that left 50 dead across the New Zealand city of Christchurch. When classes resume Monday, none will be there.
Two of the students are presumed dead and the third is in the hospital with gunshot wounds.
The father of Sayyad Milne, 14, told the New Zealand Herald that his son was last seen lying on the bloody floor of the mosque bleeding from his lower body.
"I've lost my little boy. He's just turned 14. I'll get it together again," he told the newspaper.
"I remember him as my baby who I nearly lost when he was born. Such a struggle he's had throughout all his life. He's been unfairly treated but he's risen above that and he's very brave. A brave little soldier. It's so hard ... to see him just gunned down by someone who didn't care about anyone or anything," Milne said. "I know where he is. I know he's at peace."
"I'm very confident in our staff; I'm very confident in our school community. It's made up of awesome people," Wilson said. "It's still going to be hard. There's going to be a lot of grief. There's going to be a lot of sadness. I think we've also got to be very patient with each other."
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