Dozens Killed in Terrorist Attack
Kenyan soldiers prepare to take on the terrorist attackers
By Chloe Kellison
On September 21st, many Kenyan shoppers and tourists strolled the halls of the Westgate Mall in Nairobi Kenya, when the peace was abruptly broken by a terrorist siege on the mall. Westgate is a upscale mall filled with luxurious stores and restaurants that has often symbolized the improvement of Kenya’s prosperity. It was a beautiful Saturday in the Westgate mall when eight masked gunmen with scarves raced in the crowded mall and started shooting every shopper they saw after they ordered every Muslim to leave the building. It was chaos; parents were throwing them selves over their terrified children, people were running for their lives, and confused tourists yelled in horror as they saw the shooters take their aim and take the lives of so many. At the end of the day, 39 were reported dead and over 150 were severely injured.
The owners of the mall have constantly been warned by American officials that the mall was a target for terrorist attacks because on the ground floor there’s a cafe owned by Israelis. Fred Ngoga Gateretse was having coffee in the particular cafe on that gruesome morning. When he heard two loud shots, he fell on the floor and hid, “Believe me, these guys were good shooters,” Gateretse said. “You could tell they were trained”. Four Americans were in the mall that morning, but weren’t killed. That day will always be remembered by the families of those who perished, and we should take time to think of the senseless violence caused by these insane masked men.
