Last summer the coolest place in the house was in your freezer this year It's time to level up reliance home comfort has over 155,000 five star reviews for delivering the type of outstanding customer experience Canadians have counted on for over 60 years Right now Don't pay for 12 months on a featured air conditioner or heat pump calling the experts that know how to beat the heat Conditions apply see website for details Streaming on peacock Taking them out this might be a chance put a bullet in your head Co-creator of Ozark looks like a family was running drugs execution stopped killing its refugees They only tell them I've been lying for the cartel killed my family. I'm gonna kill them all of them. I a streaming May 7th only on Peacock It was just chaos a day at the mall descends into mayhem as armed men turn shoppers into prey lots of screaming lots of gunfire They had a demeanor like they own the place panicked moms protecting their kids I just kept telling them to be quite like a mouse. Goodness.
He's going to cry This is it kids forced to protect one another you grabbed your brother Yeah, I just ran and from out of the blue a hero I just call it too hard to run towards me and she's not funny. Could he rescue the very smallest of victims when Porsche got up and ran Did you have a moment where you thought? Oh my god? I'm Lester Holt and this is Dateline Here's Kate Snow with hostage It's the modern-day town swear a gathering place that fulfills our every need shopping eating Socializing a trip to the mall is an escape on weekends and not just in America in Nairobi, Kenya The upscale and modern Westgate mall was the place to unwind at the end of the workweek.
It was the last place You'd expect something like this Gunshots explosions armed men taking over every floor methodically shooting anyone in their way That was the unbelievably brutal scene that played out in front of a shocked world September 21st 2013 Just after the smoke cleared Dateline traveled to Nairobi We'll take you inside the mall attack With harrowing scenes of how it unfolded and details from those who lived through it You'll hear from two mothers caught in the crossfire. It was pretty terrifying. It really was it was very very very careful What's going to happen? I'm going to die The kids are going to die in a matter of seconds These moms an American and a Kenyan would go from strolling through the mall to being forced to make life and death decisions to save themselves And their children for Catherine Walton.
It began like any other Saturday with her husband Philip away on business She took their five kids to the Westgate mall It was a place where all of them could be entertained the teens and the toddlers her kids liked the chicken place the candy store It's an opportunity to walk around kill a couple hours And I knew that we'd go home and have naps and everybody'd be happy The Waltons chose to move to Kenya two years earlier from Texas for Catherine and Philip It was like going home. They were both children of missionaries and grew up in countries in West Africa They met in boarding school in Africa married in the States and started raising their family at the time of the attack Bless was 14 years old Ian 10 Porsche 4 Gigi 2 and Petra the baby just 13 months old was born in Kenya Their morning at the mall unfolded just as any family's might they had lunch together in the third floor food court after lunch The boys decided to race down to the first floor to a big department store Sort of like a super Walmart called Nakumak mom and the three young girls were still finishing up lunch So they lagged behind as they were walking through the mall to catch up with the boys with the baby and a sling and the two toddlers holding mom's hands It happened an explosion It's the first thing that tells you something's wrong is a huge man. Yeah, yeah coming from where it was the main entrance So it was off to my right and behind me I remember turning around and looking at it and just seeing people screaming and running in those first seconds Catherine was unsure What was happening? She thought it sounded like broken glass or something falling but she immediately grasped that she and her girls were in danger The chaos confused another mother not far from Catherine on the main floor Faith Wombua was in the mall with her two children nine-year-old daughter Sy and 21 month old son Ty The agricultural researcher was shopping for an anniversary present for her husband.
She was in a flower shop when she first heard the noise It was so loud that actually thought it must have been an earthquake and the building was collapsing So that's the point when I just told my kids to lie down of course I'm scanning the area wondering where we're gonna go Scenes captured on security cameras in the mall show how quickly the attack began Machine gun bullets flashing down the main concourse as shoppers frantically scrambled and died to the floor And then I saw trace around starting to hit the shops that were straight ahead Catherine's first thought protect her kids It was you know just instinct to grab the girls and run But we must not have gone very far and a Kenyan woman came scooped up Portia and and we both ran right behind this display table display cabinet Catherine her girls and the Kenyan woman took cover the only place they could crouching under a flimsy temporary display table Petra was crying because I was laying on her and it was loud. It was very loud very chaotic What was happening around you? What are you hearing? You know everybody was scrambling and the shooting was like coming from all directions Catherine knew her boys had been headed toward that department store the Nakumat amid all the noise and commotion She managed to call them and yell out a quick warning.
They don't come out of the document. They're shooting go run high Do not come out Catherine knew the situation was dangerous extremely dangerous, but at least she had some cover Faith Wambua and her kids were also trapped on the ground floor, but cowering out in the open exposed to the gunmen stalking new victims I'm telling the kids will lie down then now. There's this continuous loud sounds and that's when a new they were shooting then I thought oh Wrong choice of hiding place. I remember when my daughter at one point asked me mama was this the best place to go to hide the assault continue You're not hearing just one gun now.
It was all over. It sounded all like it was all over and of course in the building It was just echoing and reverberating so you could actually look up and see other floors where I was laying I could see across and up the different levels. You know, it was just chaos What's the smell like the whole mall was cloudy and just smoke everywhere gunpowder burning smell? Did any of them come anywhere near you I saw two of them that walked from the main entrance in front of the line of stores That were directly in front of us and hold on.
What did you see? I mean you saw their feet go by? No, I saw them. I saw two whole men, you know, they were 50 yards 30 yards away I don't know what did they look like they had tan and gray clothing and they were carrying very very large weapons very large guns Hearing the gunfire and screams echoing through the mall both Catherine and Faith could tell the gunmen were spreading out Killing people as they went along two mothers trapped with young children worried They'd be next and a growing fear seized Catherine.
Her boys were no longer answering their phone. Where were they? When we come back The terrifying uncertainty for those inside the mall and loved ones outside We're gonna buy a phone call your wife and sons are in there and they're separated soon a friend of Catherine's who's been texting with her Would go from worried to frantic when she sent that my heart just sunk when did line continues? Armed men stormed into the Westgate mall in Nairobi, Kenya firing round after fatal round Catherine Walton was hunkered down near where the shooting had started crouched in a small kiosk with a stranger and her three young daughters She was desperately worried about her sons who were somewhere out there But she had to focus on keeping her daughters quiet so they wouldn't attract attention.
Are you hiding from gunmen? Yeah, we were laying down the ground trying to hide from them so that they couldn't see us For sure kept her fingers in her ears Gigi laid there and she said mom I want my blanket and my mouse and my flashlight. She sleeps with those three things every night She said she wanted her brothers And I told her that way to see them later Catherine could only hope that was true half a world away a phone rang in a hotel in North Carolina Catherine's husband Philip a tech entrepreneur had gone back to the US for business meetings leaving his wife alone in Nairobi with their five kids I got what kind of about 6 a.m. By a phone call from Paul we were who's our dear family friend So I knew it was not it was not good.
Do you remember what he said? You know, there's an attack going on at Westgate and your wife and sons are in there and they're separated That's a call you don't have to make yeah, Paul Weaver the Walton family friend had been at home recovering from surgery when he got an urgent text from Catherine What time did the first message come in the first one came in at 1252 and what did she say she said pray shooting in Westgate hiding? That's a message and just blew me away So I actually read her back really and she said yes I don't know where the boys are and she said fine blaz Paul texted the Waltons oldest son blaz But he didn't answer I started looking on on the internet somebody put out a statement on Facebook saying don't call anybody because on the phone rings Oh God Paul didn't call but stayed in touch with Catherine through text messages her lifeline to the outside world I sent a text getting me out of here And not like I really thought he could but I was just desperate and that one when she sent that my heart just sunk Catherine didn't text her husband Philip because she knew he was too far away to do anything and knew she'd only panic him back in North Carolina All Philip could do was wait it was 6 a.m. And news of the attack hadn't hit the US yet I'm trying to imagine the feeling of getting that phone call and being so far away I think healthlessness is a pretty accurate word.
You know, there's nothing that you can do I was so worried the girls would just be screaming like uncontrollably panicking and drawing attention Exactly what Catherine was trying to prevent the girls from doing I just kept telling them to stay little to stay very quiet and the Kenyan lady that was with Portia Just kept patting her and soothing her and Gigi just was curled up in a little ball. Her breathing was so quiet and so shallow I just kept rubbing her back and touching her because I was like maybe she's hurt and I don't realize it Cramped in her hiding spot. She was desperate to reach her boys after trying and trying she finally got through again I was able to send a text and just said are you okay? And he told me that they were okay and that they were safe.
You thought your boys had gotten out I did when he told me he they were safe. I thought they had gotten out But they hadn't the Walton boys were hiding in the back of the Nakumat store The aisles were a bullet riddled maze shoppers were stunned Some drawing fire and now there were gunmen headed toward Catherine's sons Faith Wombua was the other mother trapped in this nightmare She had her two young children with her and was worried about controlling her toddler son They heard gunfire all around them I feel bad you know right now because I was lying on him trying to shield him at one point And I said oh my goodness lying on this floor and then I'm pressing down on his back He must be so uncomfortable at that point that is when I put my fingers in his mouth You know hoping to give something to suck on they remained like that frozen in place first for minutes then for an hour She was terrified her son would start crying and give them away I can see his fist you know creasing into a cry and I know my goodness is going to cry. This is it Coming up faith makes a fateful choice But now our cover has been blown while our other mom Catherine becomes terrified that she and her girls are moments away from being discovered I knew that those men came around behind us that they could see us when Dateline continues Dateline is brought to you by cozy But it comes to furniture cozy covers your whole home from sofas beds and dunning sets to storage tables outdoors spaces and rugs Choose some hundreds of configurations colors and styles every piece of cozy furniture is designed to rearrange reconfigure and work for your space And cozy makes it easy every step of the way hidden storage built into sofas beds and tables means your clutter finally has a home Same resistant removable fabric covers go straight into the wash to forgive messes plus everything ships fast and assembles easily And if you need help figuring out what works for your space cozy offers free one-on-one online design consultations That's cozy the home that works for you not the other way around Transform your living space today with cozy visit cozy.ca. That's c-o-z-e-y.ca the home of possibilities made easy He was a young Marine she didn't care about convention.
They made a life together then one night the Marine died And then the death investigation took a wild unexpected and utterly bizarre turn I'm Josh. Make was and this is trace of suspicion and all new podcast from Dateline Listen to all episodes of trace of suspicion now wherever you get your podcasts Get the best of NBC news with a subscription fewer ads deeper access and exclusive content and now during the XFINITY member celebration members can get an exclusive 50% off an annual subscription head to XFINITY dot com slash membership to learn more XFINITY imagine that subscription automatically renews each year at sixty five ninety nine plus taxes and fees until cancels All her ends may twenty twenty six prices subject to change visit NBC news dot com slash XFINITY for full offer terms and details Catherine Walton was still in her makeshift hiding spot on the main floor of the mall an hour into the attack She was still trying to keep her three restless daughters contained under that flimsy table They're only protection from the roaming gunman It was a job that got harder as the mall got quieter There was a law and Patrick picked up the phone and was playing with it And then Gigi was starting to take it away from her and then the shooting started again One of them threw the phone and it just got underneath our bodies and I couldn't reach it So you couldn't text anybody I couldn't text and I couldn't get a hold of anybody a couple hours there I was texting her and then no more no more texting from then other people started calling me and saying this is really bad We've seen pictures of people being killed And she's not responding to you know Just down the corridor another mother struggled to keep her children quiet I mean you're thinking about our survival also thinking will this stop and you can run to some area where it's safe But there was nowhere else for faith and her children to go she told them being quiet wasn't enough She made an incredible decision They would all play dead her then nine-year-old daughter could understand how important it was to stay still Amazingly her son then too seemed to sense it as well. He didn't move except for an occasional blink Men with machine guns scoured every inch of the mall. We were right next to a corridor where we could hear them Passing from time to time, but there was no way I was going to change my position As the minutes dragged into hours knowing her son might stir at any moment faith was relieved when he goes off her a bit He was lying down the ground, you know snoring away I didn't know whether he was alive because when I was shut there I was open and I knew to wait to sleep hot cramped with numb limbs faith urged her kids to fight the need to move My daughter whenever I felt like she was you know, twitching or changing a position because my my hand was on her arm I would just you know just squeeze a little bit and that she totally understood that to mean stay still But then two-year-old tie woke up faith wondered how much longer he could hold on she took a chance and played a game She pretended glass and cement were insects to keep him distracted So it is an insect coming and you'd watch it so fascinated he really likes insects the gunman continued to brazenly troll the mall floors Looking for victims Catherine was worried they would finally see her and the girls after all she was seeing the gunman When they walked by you were they shooting?
No, they were walking very slow They almost had a demeanor like they own the place like they knew they were in control. Did they see you? They looked my direction. I knew the dosas men came out of knock you met and came around behind us that they could see us Those men had already killed dozens of shoppers captured by a security camera a wounded person is prodded by a terrorist Other parts show the gunman callous They're shooting people throughout the mall even the injured as the siege dragged on the outside world was beginning to get some idea of how terrible it was Good evening loud explosions were heard tonight at the canyon capital of Nairobi Those still trapped inside the mall couldn't know they were part of a terrorist attack Faith Wombua and her two kids remained absolutely still it was their only chance for survival, but her mind raced thinking about my husband Where is he how will he get you know about this incident?
I'm wondering will I will any of my children get shot? Will I get shot and my children have no mother with this faith was determined to protect her children at any cost? I remember some photos covering the children my son's head and my daughter's head And I said any bullet would have to pass through me first before it gets to these children faith and her children had been flat on the floor for a full Three and a half hours when suddenly she heard something we had had voices from above us on higher floors asking us to get up Mother mother with the children you mother down there with the children I knew they're now addressing me, but immediately we got up onto our knees and we're trying to get up to go They're shooting side again She thought by moving she drawn attention to herself We were scared at first because now our cover has been blown because now they know that we are really not dead faith didn't trust anyone now So when a man approached she was sure it wasn't good And that's when now when I felt somebody touching me and you know they've come for us because now they know we are alive So we just lay down there and remember telling my daughter Why coming up faith has to make a split-second decision their lives depend on it should she trust the man talking to her child Baby baby touching my daughter baby baby and then a fresh shot for Catherine's husband that is very traumatic to me when Dateline continues For three and a half hours after armed gunmen stormed the Westgate mall two mothers had been trapped Catherine Walton crouched for cover with Three young daughters under a temporary kiosk gun gun patrolling nearby and faith Wombua She and her two young children had played dead all that time They moved once and were instantly shot at as a man approached them faith held her position, but he wasn't a terrorist He was a police officer baby baby touching my daughter baby baby. Are you okay?
Are you okay? And I said wow in my mind I think it must be a good person to find out if you're okay Not are we alive are we okay? And then he said it's safe. It's safe It's the police Faith's nine-year-old daughter sigh was the first to move my daughter put up ahead not quite hesitant And asked him are you with the bad guys?
Because I mean I was still looking down. I was scared. I thought now we've come where we are So my daughter really put I had up a suitative and tell her to go back down engage the policeman in a conversation Are you with the bad people and then sit mama look up and then almost against her instincts faith began to trust when I looked I'd seen his civilian jacket I didn't know who he was I was gonna trust somebody except if they're in a uniform and then he as he sat up Then I saw his shirt. I was able to recognize the uniform and then he said it's fine.
I'm going to lead you to safety get up Desperately afraid to move faith agreed It was time to make a run for it still worried that gunfire would erupt again faith slowly got up and crept toward the exit with her children I remember even seeing a booty lying there on the steps as he ran out, but I said I'm focusing on where we're going There was this policeman the one was carrying my daughter was running too fast and was way ahead The one with my son was lagging behind and I'm thinking don't separate as I kept on saying my son my son After all those hours forced to keep her children quiet. They were finally out. I'm crying now because I'm free No, there's all this tears of joy In his hotel room 6,000 miles away in Charlotte Philip Walton could only hope his story would have such a happy ending He was combing through Kenyan news reports. He saw on social media I remember one specifically where they said they were somebody had just seen them bring a child body out in a shopping cart And they said it was a five or six year old little boy and I thought to myself well I don't think anybody would confuse our boys for being five or six, but they confused one of our girls for being a little boy And I that was that that piece of news was very traumatic to me in agony and alone He prayed and started playing one song over and over in his mind I think we do have a measure of grace that comes to us in very difficult times for me There was a there's a u2 song that went off in the back of my head It's called 40 it's from the 40th song and I just I started reading that song over and over and getting it You know just it was exactly what I needed to hear and and so I took a lot of comfort from that It's got that great.
I know that song. It's an awesome song How long to sing? Exactly. Yeah, it became kind of the inspiration of hope It gave me something to pray about during the time that that I didn't know what was going on He was comforted by his faith, but it was impossible not to worry by now.
He knew what his wife didn't His entire family was caught in a carefully coordinated full-blown terrorist attack. You think the worst You know when you when you know that these are terrorists and and you know that their intent is not You know to steal something and get out of there, but it's to it's to kill people And you know that their intent is to is is to hurt Christians, you know that their intent is is to try and disrupt our our way of life in Kenya You know, it's the realities of what that could mean are Very present He had no way of knowing whether his family was alive or not no way of knowing that soon some of his prayers would be answered Coming up Philip and Catherine sons are trapped in the most violent part of them all and a 14 year old realizes it's up to him Protect his younger brother. I just thought he in first save him me second when date line continues As they wrap suck at the scoop on what's been happening with here's the scoop but the podcast from NBC News with me Your host Jasmine to sue you will take a deep dive into the day's top stories with NBC News's trusted journalists It's a fresh take that's sharp thoughtful and informative bringing you closer to the headlines and conversations that are shaping our world The front page the zeitgeist here's the scoop from NBC News listen daily on Amazon music Hey guys Willie guys here reminding you to check out the Sunday sit-down podcast on this week's episode I sit down with one of the biggest bands in the world Mumford and sons as we get the boys together to talk about their new number one album prize fighter and the evolution of that irresistible Footstomping sound you can get our conversation for free wherever you download your podcasts Let's kickstart your wellness journey with the dark today at workout some meal plans It's your fast track to a healthier you and now during the XFINITY member celebration members can get an exclusive 50% off an annual subscription Into XFINITY dot com slash membership to learn more XFINITY can imagine that subscription automatically reduce each year at 6599 plus taxes and fees until canceled all the rants may 20th 2026 prices subject to change visit today dot com slash XFINITY for full-off returns and details Three hours had passed since Philip Walton was awakened by a call telling him his family was trapped inside the west gate mall Him down by gunfire. He'd been on his computer all morning checking for updates Then suddenly he received a facebook message from a friend with a freeze frame of video In the bottom right hand corner was an unmistakable sight his two sons alive and outside the mall It was my two two sons standing with my business partner.
It was a very big very noticeable man Paul weaver raced down to the mall area and confirmed the picture was real the boys were out And just seeing them I mean, I don't think there's been any bigger hugs in the world But it was joy but at the same time just seeing the anguish in their face and bled's just we just sat on the floor and he just like laid his head down He just just all the emotions coming through him is so it's the greatest moment in one of saddest moments at the same time A joyful moment for Philip knowing his boys were finally safe But too brief because he knew his wife and three young daughters were still trapped in that mall The Walton boys bled and Ian had endured three and a half hours in the most dangerous area In the Nakumat department store where terrorists hunted down innocent victims terrifying for anyone But especially for two boys separated from their mother This is bled's Walton It was difficult for him to recount the story of what happened to him and his brother But he wanted to tell it starting from the beginning The two brothers had just paid and were still standing in the checkout line when they saw something strange And what's the first thing you hear see that's weird? Everybody looks to the main entrance and we all look as well everybody in Nakumat and Then a loud sound happens and three people go flying and then that's when people realize what's going on and they run Three people go flying into the air. They just like fell backwards. They just went It was scary.
Did you think it was a bomb or something? I thought it was a bomb at first, but then when I heard the two gunfire sounds I knew it wasn't just a bomb. It was something else He knew he had to protect himself and more than that he knew he was responsible for his younger brother You grabbed your brother. Yeah as fast as you could.
Yeah, I just ran. Are you pushing him? Yes You didn't want him to see nothing. That's hard for that would be hard for me and her for a grownup.
Yeah That's 14. It's pretty hard. Really is Les clutching his brother Ian raced away from the gunfire with just one thought I just thought Ian first save him me second and you headed toward the back of the store Other people at that time are rushing back. So we followed the crowd They made it to a store room at the back of the Nakumat others were hiding there too Including an American mother with her own kids without Catherine there to comfort them The boys stayed with that mother Les hopes they were far enough away from the gun-toting terrorists But they weren't surveillance video shows the terrorists made it all the way to the back hunting For more victims, but this wise 14 year old did something ingenious I finally just pulled in a side sat him down behind a thing of flour on all There's one by one by one meters of flour on all sides of him So kind of like a barricade of flour bags Yeah, and then we had pulled toilet paper on top of our heads and nobody would even see us Why did you need to be hidden?
Because we didn't know if people were going to be walking back and looking for us So we just pulled all stops 10 year old Ian Walton remembers how scared he was Did you see any of the bad guys? No, but this seemed like someone closed the gate before where we were And it's not they're trying to shoot through it and like through grenades to blow it up But you never got through You heard a lot of loud sounds Yeah, yeah, and you said you were back there. How long were you? About three and a half hours.
We thought about it a little bit. Yeah, but when you were there I know if it were me, I would have been really really scared. We were pretty pretty scared All my brother and we did was just pray for our family and just laid there They lay there and listened and every once in a while we'd hear gunfire grenade sounds And at one point these people came in saying where the police is okay The gunfire the Walton boys had been hearing briefly paused and those voices identifying themselves as police were encouraging people to come out Around him. Bles heard people start moving They walked out and then about 15 seconds later You just heard a lot of machine gun fire for about 30 seconds and then it just was quiet So you think it was the bad guys leaning them out?
You did the right thing by staying where you were? Yeah, I mean the lady we were with she had told us what to do every step of the way and without her I don't think I think me and my brother would have gone out with that crowd so thanks to her we're still alive The Walton boys were holed up in that back room when eventually police were able to break down the door and get people out Relief washed over Philip Walton when he saw his boys in the image his friend sent him at least his sons were okay I remember thinking at that time At least I won't be alone. You know, I remember thinking, you know, however horrific this day is At least the boys and I will have each other if it turns out worse than we would hope or imagine His wife Catherine was still trapped under that tiny table with her three girls And now things were looking worse a man with a gun was headed their way Coming up just who was he and then a daring escape plan from an unlikely hero and then I told the lady now What happened next amaze the world? When dateline continues For more than four hours Catherine Walton her girls and the canyon woman helping them huddled in a hiding space barely bigger than a bathtub Closed off from the outside world Catherine didn't know she was part of a terrorist attack All she knew was that gunmen were canvassing them all shooting at everyone and now a man with a gun was creeping toward her You were under that table for hours At some point you hear something you see something I think there was a little bit of commotion and the canyon woman said the cops are here But it wasn't the police it was a canyon man named obdul haji The businessman and father of four had received a text message from his brother earlier that morning My suit was very briefly.
It just read at wayskate Terrorist pray for me obdul haji bolted to the mall and was stunned by what he saw when he got there carnage everywhere He was terrified for his brother who works for the canyon intelligence service and had received death threats from al-shabaab The same terror group that was now attacking the mall at this point in time the magnitude of the whole situation dawned on me Security forces were just arriving and obdul who's licensed to carry a gun decided in an instant to join them They entered the mall from the parking garage on the top floor Obdul's brother was still in the mall and actually not far from Catherine Walton and her girls on the main floor He was hiding in a bathroom obdul worked his way down to the main floor and as he did his brother managed to escape I reached my phone friend call him and I see this message on my screen saying i'm out i'm safe Please come out but obdul haji didn't come out despite the gruesome scene the blood the bodies the smell of smoke and constant gunfire He decided to stay and help obdul search through the mall looking for victims then he made a discovery that shocked him I look down and I see somebody hiding behind a table. Who's a lady? She looked very scared and i'm thinking she was right in the middle of the crossfire Catherine spotted obdul too, but sensed he wasn't a threat. How did you know they weren't terrorists?
They weren't carrying the large guns we had seen that the terror was had With just a few words between them Catherine Walton and obdul haji quickly coordinated an exit strategy We opened fire towards the door. You're just too scared the terrorist away Then it was time then we hold fire and then I tell the lady now and suddenly this young girl appears out of nowhere And I just call it too hard to run towards me and she starts running And immediately i'm thinking what a brave girl when Portia got up and ran Did you have a moment where you thought oh my god? I think I realized that it was precarious, but I was also trusting that if they were telling us to run that it was safe For Catherine, it was a gigantic leap of faith after shielding her daughters for four and a half hours She knew that to save them she would have to let them go The image of four-year-old Portia running to obdul haji was one no one would soon forget Catherine wasn't far behind In north carolina philip got a phone call from his business partner eric hirsman I got confirmation from eric that he was standing there with them And that they were all safe your whole family. Yeah, I wrote down and cried Yeah, then it then it uh, you know, then then you can let go, you know, then then you can just kind of You can collapse later a picture followed his wife and children trapped in that mall for hours in terror We're now in the safety of a friend's house together simply the most precious thing I could get even imagined to see all of them, you know sitting there in safety and and knowing that they had they had come through it philip grabbed the first flight back to kenya What's about really good when he got off the plane?
It was very good because he knows a mom would dad's not around you feel like you have to keep it together and you've got to be strong And the kids were very excited to see him they had been asking They were relieved to finally be able to touch him and hug him and have that extra security Images showed the devastation and destruction of the west gate mall ravaged by a siege that dragged on for four days Terrorists with links to al-qaeda claimed responsibility and the kenyaan government said at least 67 people died for the survivors It was difficult to make sense of it all to move on Faith wambua went home hugged her husband and two days after the attack there was cause for celebration and time for reflection And grateful for us for being alive for children being alive I'm grateful to be reunited with my husband like it. I never thought I'd see our second anniversary But we did and this incident has actually brought us more closer. We don't know what don't want to leave each other's sides Faith and her children were reunited with that police officer who reached out to her on that terrible day grateful He risked his life to save theirs The waltons too said they were grateful for friends new and old Especially young Portia who beamed when we showed her a picture of her rescuer on a smartphone Three days after the worst day of their lives the waltons were reunited with their hero Abdul haji is himself a father and a muslim It's not lost on him that he is forever linked to a christian family who chose to live in kenya And that's what humanity is all about it happened that I was a muslim and they were christians But at that time what I was saying was that was a little girl and her mother I was not seeing what religion that pastor was As we've been able to tell this story and spend time with haji and and you know to see the courage of a man like that There's an inspiration for me and bless walton said he had a new perspective You've seen the worst of humanity and you've seen the best of humanity. Yeah same day It's just a miracle to be able to both of those in one day And for catheren and her children as dismal and as dark as the events in that mall were She refused to do anything but grow and be positive for herself and her family Because I don't want them to come out of this and hate or be angry about what happened It would be easy to be angry.
It would be very easy to be angry I don't want them to see the bad part of it. I want them to come turn that bad situation into something positive That's all for now. I'm Lester Holt. Thanks for joining us I'm Craig Malef, cheers.
Cheers. Cheers. I've always been a glass half full kind of guy And now i'm talking to some people who look at the world that way too Some really fascinating folks who shared their defining moments their triumphs the challenges their stories are funny And you are candid so I hope you'll join me each way and who knows you might just come away with your own glass half full Search glass half full with Craig Malef and from today on youtube and wherever you get a podcast