An American teen injured in the Brussels terrorist attacks Tuesday has now escaped death twice.
Mason Wells, a 19-year-old Mormon missionary from Utah, was with two other American missionaries when blasts rocked the airport at Zaventem, injuring all three.
Though only a teenager, it's the second terrorist attack Wells has survived, family friend Lloyd Coleman told The Huffington Post.
"His mother ran the Boston marathon three years ago," Coleman said. "Mason was there at the finish line waiting when the bomb went off a block away. He was close enough to hear and feel it."
He and his family managed to walk away from that attack. Even more remarkable is that when terrorists attacked Paris in November, Wells was just a couple hours away doing missionary work.
“Nineteen years old and exposed to three terrorist attacks is amazing for anyone,” Coleman said. “Especially an American.”
Thirty-two people were killed in Tuesday's attacks, and more than 250 others injured.
Wells is now recovering in a hospital following surgery on his Achilles tendon, which was ripped during the blast.
The two missionaries he was with, 20-year-old Joseph Empey and 66-year-old Richard Norby, were also seriously injured, along with an Air Force officer, his wife and four children. All nine Americans were caught up in the airport bombings.
Empey's mother said that her son was wounded, but recovering.
“He’s got injuries and waiting to go into surgery, but he’s doing great, and we feel really awful for so many injured,” Amber Hempey told HuffPost the day of the attacks. “He happens to be a lucky one and we’re pretty grateful.”
READ MORE:
- Even After Deadly Attacks, We’re Stronger Together
- Harrowing Video Shows Train Evacuation After Brussels Attacks
- Cities Worldwide #PrayForBrussels
- Obama Still Wants To Talk To Enemies, But He's The Only One
- Brussels Universities Help Students Stranded After Attacks
- U.S. Cities Tighten Security After Deadly Brussels Attacks
- ‘Black Day For Europe’: Leaders React To Brussels Attacks
- Obama On Brussels Attacks: 'We Must Be Together' To Fight Terrorism
- Phone Companies Offer Free Calls To Belgium After Attacks
- Turks, Still Reeling, React To Brussels Carnage: ‘I Share Their Pain’
- Belgians' Worst Fears Realized After Months On High Terror Alert
- Belgian National Soccer Team Preaches Love In Wake Of Attacks
For additional coverage in French, visit Le Huffington Post and their live blog; For coverage in German, visit HuffPost Germany; For coverage in Spanish, visit HuffPost Spain; For coverage in Arabic, visit HuffPost Arabi.
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