After the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis, CNN spoke with people who described the panic and trauma.

Children: Fifth grader Weston Halsne said his friend who shielded him from gunfire was shot in the back as they hid under the pews. “They shot through the stained glass windows, I think, and it was really scary,” Weston said. His friend was injured and taken to the hospital, he told CNN affiliate WCCO-TV.

CNN witnessed a man and woman walking into the Minneapolis school with their arms around each other. Less than a minute later, screams of “Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God,” echoed out of the building and across the street.

Parents: Shea McAdaragh, a parent, told reporters that a police officer came into the church while the shooting was actively taking place and then left the church a few seconds later attempting to find the shooter. “And that’s when I knew I was safe, the children were safe,” he said. McAdaragh said he was sitting in the back pew and his son, a second grader at the school, was not hurt.

Police: Officers in Minneapolis “are deeply traumatized” by what they saw, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said. “The dozens of officers that responded to the scene, many of them are deeply traumatized by what they saw, as are obviously all of the children.”

Reporters: WCCO-TV Reporter Jennifer Mayerle struggled to get information out on air about the the number of children injured. “It’s so heavy when I say something like that. You can hear me get choked up. That’s not ever something you want to report,” said Mayerle. Anchor Frank Vascellaro said, “we’ll try to keep it together as much as we can and get you good information but if we get a little an upset at times it’s because it kind of hits home for us. It’s not far from our neighborhood.”

Neighbors: Pat Scallen, who lives down the street from the school, said he ran to the church when he heard gunfire. As people started coming out, he saw three kids looking hurt, and he stayed with them until EMTs arrived, he said. “I felt it was important to calm them down and let them know that someone was with them and help was on the way,” he said.