The few students who survived this horrific shooting on Wednesday recount memories of their classmates’ bloodied bodies lying lifeless on the ground as Taliban militants shot aimlessly and continually. The attack on the Army Public School of Peshawar in Northern Pakistan lasted for nine hours, and was executed by a sect of the Taliban called the Tehrik-i-Taliban. After entering the school, the seven militant attackers, equipped with suicide vests to use in case of capture, fired point blank in classrooms, killing dozens of members of the student body and administration. They specifically looked for any survivors hiding throughout the school, with intent to kill the remainder of students. The principal and numerous teachers were burned alive after attempting to defend students. Blackened rooms have been found, presumably damaged from bombs.

Fifteen year old student Dawood Ibrahim was luckily to have his alarm clock not go off on this day and miss school. He was the only survivor of his class. Shahrunkh Khan was in the school’s auditorium as the attack commenced and, after being shot in the arm, played dead while hiding under a bench, saying that he put his tie in his mouth to keep from crying out in pain. Other students saw their siblings and classmates killed in front of them by the merciless militants. However, the attacks brought out courage in many people, such as teachers who were burned alive while defending their students and the soldiers from the Pakistani government who lost their lives protecting the school. In total, 145 people were killed, 132 children, 10 teachers and other staff, and 3 soldiers.