Elder Mason Wells was accompanying a fellow LDS missionary to the airport when he was injured in the Brussels terror attacks. (Facebook)
Three Americans, all Mormon missionaries, were hurt in the March 22 terror attacks in Brussels. The missionaries were accompanying a fourth missionary to the airport en route to a US-based mission, according to the LDS Church-owned Deseret News. Elders Mason Wells, Joseph Empey, and Richard Norby, all of Utah, were taken to the hospital.
Here’s what we know about them:
Elder Mason Wells
Mason Wells, here in a pre-mission photo, was serving in Brussels at the time of the attacks. (Blog)
Mason Wells, 19, of Sandy, Utah, had been serving since 2014 and was set to come home August 3, according to his blog. He had previously served in Paris; Brussels is part of the Church’s France Paris mission district. Wells arrived in Brussels in early March. Wells has four siblings.
Mason Wells with his four siblings in front of the Provo Utah Temple. (Blog)
Elder Joseph Empey
Empey (foreground) with Wells in Brussels. (Blog)
Joseph Empey, 20, of Santa Clara, Utah, had been serving since 2014 and was due to come home in July, according to his blog. On March 21, the day before the attack, Empey reported that he was set to baptize a local father and daughter. Empey and Wells had been paired together since mid-February, following a transfer of Empey’s former companion. Empey is the oldest of five children.
Joseph Empey prior to his departure. (Blog)
Elder Richard Norby
Richard Norby with his wife Pamela in a photo from February 1. (Facebook)
Richard Norby, 66, of Lehi, Utah, had served with his wife in a senior mission for the LDS Church in the Paris area. Norby studied at BYU and worked for 37 years in north and central Utah. In 2014 he was honored at a banquet for longtime seminary teachers, or volunteer instructors in the Church’s religious education system for teenagers. Norby and his wife, Pam, have five children and 16 grandchildren.
Richard Norby with family in a photo from 2014. (Facebook)
