An inscription above the doors of the Church of Annunciation in south Minneapolis proclaims its sanctuary to be “the House of God and the gate of Heaven.”

But on Wednesday, the sense of tranquility that parishioners and students have long found in the heart of the church and Catholic school was literally shattered when a shooter opened fire through its stained-glass windows.

Weston Halsne, 10, told reporters he was sitting two seats away from the windows that surround the sanctuary celebrating the start-of-school Mass, when shots began.

“It was like right beside me … I think I got gunpowder on my neck,” he said. “The first one, I was like, ‘What is that?’ and then I heard it again and I just ran under the pew.”

The fifth grader said he covered his head as his friend dove on top o

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