MADISON, Wis.– After waiting hours at the unification site, parents reunited with their kids at the SSM Dean Medical Group.
“I was getting ready for lunch, and it was basically lunchtime.” “I just heard shouting and there was a teacher named Mrs. Slater, and she was like ‘My leg! Help! Help!’” said Nora Gottschalk.
Nora is eight years old and a second grader at Abundant Life Christian School. She said she heard commotion from the shooting before going into lockdown.
“I was really scared, and I was really sad,” said Nora.
Nora continued to explain more of what she saw, including a moment where one of her classmates took a life-changing risk to close a curtain and conceal his classmates.
“He risked his life to put the black curtain down,” said Nora.
She said this boy’s name is Noah, and that he went out from under the table where all the kids were hiding to close the curtain. She said that Noah is alive and okay.
While Nora and her classmates were in lockdown her father was getting the news about the shooting.
“I was on my way to work, and I was moving out of the way for ambulances and police to move out of the way. At the same time, I ended up getting a text from my kid’s school saying that there was an active shooting,” said Nora’s father, Karl Gottschalk.
Karl was in shock when he found out both his son and daughter were in the building with the shooter. He went to the unification center and waited hours for their return.
“Seeing 10, 12 15 ambulances really, really scared me, thinking that one of my children might be the one,” said Karl. “It’s going to take a lot of time and, you know, just a lot of consoling for everybody in the community.”
The family was reunited more than four hours after the shooting was reported. Karl is glad to give his kids a popsicle and a big hug after an unforgettable day.
“We’re all back and we are going to go home and be safe and hold each other,” said Karl.
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