Miami, FL

Andy Murray, a survivor of a 1996 school shooting, gave his condolences to the families of the victims at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Conn.

"My heart goes out to all those poor children, their families and the community in Newtown in Connecticut, so, so sad," Murray posted in his Facebook account.

The world's number three tennis player was an 8 year-old elementary student in 1996 when a former scout leader opened fire at Dunblane Primary school in central Scotland.

It claimed the life of 16 children and their teacher.

The gunman, who also shot and killed himself, targeted the 5- and 6-years-old as they were starting in exercise class in the school's gymnasium.

Murray and his older brother survived the attack by taking cover in a classroom and hiding under a desk.

In 2009, he published his autobiography, Hitting Back, in which he addresses some of what he called his "patch impressions" from that day, such as "singing songs."

"The weirdest thing is that we knew the guy (the gunman, Thomas Hamilton)," Murray writes in the book.

Judy Murray, the tennis player's mother, told ESPN in 2009 that experience of waiting and not knowing if your child is alive or dead was "absolutely horrendous."

"The worst. The worst thing you could ever imagine having to go through in your life," she told ESPN.

The massacre in Dunblane remains a landmark criminal case in the United Kingdom.

Father Basil O'Sullivan of the Holy Family Church in Dunblane told ESPN the town for a while was known as "the place where young children die."

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