Brussels Was US Teen's 3rd Terrorist Attack

Mason Wells, 19, suffered shrapnel wounds and burns
By Michael Harthorne,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 22, 2016 9:05 PM CDT
Brussels Was US Teen's 3rd Terrorist Attack
Mason Wells   (Mormon Church via AP)

Mason Wells, at only 19 years old, has already survived enough terrorist attacks for a lifetime. "This is his third terrorist attack," his father, Chad Wells, tells ABC News. "We live in a dangerous world and not everyone is kind and loving." Mason was one of the Mormon missionaries injured in the bomb blast at the Brussels airport on Tuesday that left at least a dozen people dead, the New York Daily News reports. He suffered burns to his hands and face, shrapnel wounds, and an injured Achilles tendon. "He was extremely close to the blast," Chad Wells tells ABC. "It's a blessing from God he's alive." His parents are optimistic he'll recover.

In 2013, Mason was a block away from the Boston Marathon finish line waiting for his mother, who was running in the race, when the bombs exploded. Chad credits that experience for helping Mason stay calm during the attack on the Brussels airport. Mason was also in France during the November terrorist attacks in Paris. Though he was a few hours away at a Mormon mission, it was close enough for his family to worry for his safety. "It's incredible he'd be so close to more than one of these," a bishop with the LDS church tells the Daily News. "But ... he's the kind of young man to somehow turn this into a positive." Mason hopes to one day join the US Naval Academy. (More Brussels attack stories.)

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