Wednesday, December 17, 2014

'I folded my tie into my mouth so I wouldn't scream': Teenage survivor shot in both legs by Taliban gunmen reveals how he played dead under a bench as insurgents hunted for children to kill

'I folded my tie into my mouth so I wouldn't scream': Teenage survivor shot in both legs by Taliban gunmen reveals how he played dead under a bench as insurgents hunted for children to kill

  • Shahrukh Khan was in school auditorium when four gunmen stormed in
  • 16-year-old heard one say: 'There are so many children... go and get them' 
  • Schoolboy played dead as gunman 'pumped bullets' into students' bodies 
  • Said: 'I lay as still as I could and closed my eyes, waiting to get shot again'
  • 10-year-old also described how he saw two classmates shot in front of him 
  • Muhammad Muneeb: 'I saw my own brother die, he was shot in the throat'
  • One said: 'There are dead bodies everywhere. This city is filled with dead bodies'
  • Gunmen in Peshawar entered school and started shooting at random
  • One terrorist blew himself up in a classroom containing 60 children   
  • Taliban accepted responsibility for the attack, claiming it 'was just a trailer' 
By Ted Thornhill for MailOnline and Imtiaz Hussain In Peshawar For Mailonline and Aamir Iqbal and Aoun Sahi and Steph Cockroft for MailOnline and David Williams for the Daily Mail
Published: 18:40 GMT, 16 December 2014 | Updated: 13:01 GMT, 17 December 2014
A teenage survivor who was shot in both legs during today's Taliban attack on a Pakistani school has described how he shoved a tie in his mouth to stop him from screaming in fear as gunmen hunted for children to kill.

Shahrukh Khan, 16, was sitting with his classmates during a careers guidance session at the Army Public School in Peshawar when gunmen wearing paramilitary uniforms burst in and opened fire.

The schoolboy described how he cowered under a bench and played dead while gunmen 'pumped bullets' in fellow students' bodies.

Fearing he was about to be killed, the young boy then managed to crawl to shelter behind a door in a nearby classroom, despite sustaining gunshot wounds to both his legs. 
Scroll down for video  
A Twitter user claimed that this boy was the only surviving member of class 9 at the Army Public School 
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A Twitter user claimed that this boy was the only surviving member of class 9 at the Army Public School 
One of the teenage survivors from today's horror attack at the Army Public School in Peshawar told how he played dead to stop being shot to death by the insurgents. Pictured: An injured students lies in bed following this morning's attack
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One of the teenage survivors from today's horror attack at the Army Public School in Peshawar told how he played dead to stop being shot to death by the insurgents. Pictured: An injured students lies in bed following this morning's attack
The attack started with the gunmen entering the 500-pupil school - which has students aged 10 to 18
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The attack started with the gunmen entering the 500-pupil school - which has students aged 10 to 18
Dozens of parents raced to hospital to comfort their children, after they were injured during the attack
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Dozens of parents raced to hospital to comfort their children, after they were injured during the attack

Today's attack in the north-western Pakistani city of Peshawar today left at least 132 children dead and is believed to be the bloodiest ever attacks in the nation's history.
The horror at the Pakistan Army Public School in Peshawar came on the day when the military was scheduled to provide a display of first-aid and drills. 

At first, the children thought it was just a drill. Then the screaming began. As the pupils poring over their books realised the bangs they could hear were the sounds of guns fired in anger, panic spread. 

In minutes the school resembled a battleground with terrified pupils running for their lives, hiding or pretending to be dead. 

Speaking from his bed in the trauma ward of the Lady Reading Hospital, Shahrukh described how the gunmen shouted 'Allah-o-Akbar' before opening fire.
He said: 'Someone screamed at us to get down and hide below the desks. Then one of them shouted: "There are so many children beneath the benches, go and get them."

'I saw a pair of big black boots coming towards me, this guy was probably hunting for students hiding beneath the benches.'

Khan said he felt searing pain as he was shot in both his legs just below the knee. He decided to play dead, adding: 'I folded my tie and pushed it into my mouth so that I wouldn't scream. The man with big boots kept on looking for students and pumping bullets into their bodies.

'I lay as still as I could and closed my eyes, waiting to get shot again. My body was shivering.

'I saw death so close and I will never forget the black boots approaching me—I felt as though it was death that was approaching me.'   
Posted by solsticewitch13 at 9:42 AM

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