Mother with daughter at Abundant Life says they pray "every morning that this won't happen"

 

Second-grade student Nora Gottsckalk speaks to CNN affiliate WISC in Madison, Wisconsin, on December 16. 

WISC

Second grader Nora Gottsckalk, age 8, was in the school hallway getting ready for lunch when the shooting began, she told CNN affiliate WISC on Monday.

She saw a teacher she knew well who had been injured. “She was screaming, ‘Ah, my leg, help, help!’” Nora said, clutching a SpongeBob candy in her hand as she spoke to reporters.

“I was really scared, and I was really sad.”

Abundant Life Christian School is a small school – about 420 students from kindergarten to high school – with parents and school administrators describing it as a tight-knit community.

Bethany Highman speaks to CNN affiliate WMTV. 

WMTV

Bethany Highman grew up in Madison, herself attending Abundant Life as a child — and now has a daughter attending the school. Her daughter was unharmed during the shooting on Monday, she told CNN affiliate WMTV in the afternoon, but she was still waiting to be reunited and wasn’t sure of her whereabouts.

“I pray with my kids every morning that this won’t happen, and it’s the world that we live in,” Highman said. “God is good, God is gracious, and my kids are safe, my family is safe.”