A man who survived two terror attacks has a message for the assailants: I forgive you.
Mason Wells was a short distance from one of the two bombs that exploded near the finish line of the Boston Marathon in 2013, killing three spectators and wounding 260 others.
Three years later, Wells was wounded when a bomb exploded at the airport in Brussels.
On Friday, the 20-year-old missionary from Sandy, Utah, released a video addressing the attackers. In the clip recorded for the news website Mic.Com, Wells says: “What you did was evil. You killed innocent people and you ended meaningful lives.”
“I still carry scars from that day,” he says, adding: “But I have chosen to forgive you. I have learned that the decision to forgive is ours and ours alone.”
Wells says he’s chosen not to live in fear “and I’ve chosen to make every single day another day to be grateful for.”
Mason Wells survived 2 terrorist attacks — and now he has a message for his attackers: https://t.co/YK73HMd07y pic.twitter.com/kj4tnUIGz9
— Mic (@mic) December 15, 2017
Wells narrowly escaped injury in the attack at the marathon, where he standing with his father 60 yards (55 meters) away from one of the bombs to cheer for his mother, who was running.
A MIRACULOUS STORY OF SURVIVAL: Mason Wells lived through two terror attacks. He shared his story on @foxandfriends. pic.twitter.com/FNNE8FETxJ
— Ainsley Earhardt (@ainsleyearhardt) November 22, 2017
In the 2016 attack at Brussels’ Zaventem Airport, he suffered burns to his face and hands, shrapnel and blast wounds to his legs and other injuries that required extensive treatment and rehabilitation. More than two dozen people were killed in explosions at the airport and in a subway.
"I survived two terrorist attacks." Mason Wells survived both the bombing at the Brussels airport and the Boston Marathon. https://t.co/cf6OdYZON7
— HLN Weekend Express (@WeekendExp) November 26, 2017
'Left Standing’: After living through three terrorist attacks, Mason Wells is sharing his survival story in a new book. He took some time to talk to News Specialist @SeanMoodyKSL about his experience. pic.twitter.com/w62QdSWi8K
— KSL 5 TV (@KSL5TV) November 26, 2017
“By forgiving you and getting past the events of that day, I’ve become a stronger person,” Wells said.
“It’s about letting go of yesterday and not letting the hardest moments of our lives define us,” he said.
