Local students headed to Holocaust Museum when shooting happened

WASHINGTON D.C. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - A group of West Michigan teenagers is safe, after being only miles away from the shooting at the U.S. Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. Wednesday afternoon.

A group of 70 freshman and sophomores and their chaperones from Unity Christian High School in Hudsonville had gone down to tour some museums in D.C. after school let out last week.

The group was on it's way to the museum when one of the chaperones, Unity Christian Teacher Brian Koetje got a call from their tour guide, saying that there had been a shooting at the museum.

"When he arrived there were people running out screaming, so he called us right away and said, you know, don't come down," said Koetje.

Koetje says that when the students found out what happened, they were concerned and upset.

"There was a lot of shock and kids were asking, 'Who did this? Why did they do this?' and they were very disappointed, because that museum in particular was one of the sights everyone was most excited to get to," he said.

The Holocaust Museum will remain closed Friday in honor of that security guard who lost his life in the shooting.

The students from Unity Christian are expected to arrive back in West Michigan on Friday.