A 19 year old shooter opened fire in a South Florida high school on Wednesday, killing at least 17 people. The suspected shooter, who is a 19-year-old former student, is now in custody. As the shooting was happening, students barricaded in classrooms and closets inside the building reached out to their parents to say what they feared might be their last words. Students sent heart-breaking texts to their parents and family members. Some texts that were shared over media are:
One student wrote to her parents, “If I don’t make it I love you and I appreciated everything you did for me,” according to a screenshot shared with WSVN reporter Jessica Holly.
Text from child to parent during Marjory Stoneman Douglas High mass shooting. This child has been reunited with her parents. Team coverage begins at 10 @wsvn pic.twitter.com/dNX5YwC7pd
— Jessica Holly (@JhollyW) February 15, 2018
A 14-year-old student texted his dad to say that his mother couldn’t come get him because the school was still “on lockdown” and “you could get hurt.”
Miami Herald reporter Carli Teproff, who shared the 14-year-old’s text message, said the student had been reunited with his family.
Father who sent text to son about playing dead if a shooter comes in is reunited with his son. His other son was also on lockdown in middle school. pic.twitter.com/MjH4KmPdJr
— Carli Teproff (@CTeproff) February 14, 2018
James Harrison, a sophomore at the high school, texted his stepfather, “I love you,” and said he was “really scared.” He also asked his stepfather to call the police and not to call him, because he needed to stay silent.
“I just couldn’t believe it because there were so many shots that I heard and I was so scared and I was so anxious because I didn’t know what was going on,” Harrison said In an interview with Fox News after the shooting.
“I saw everybody else in my class was texting their family members,” he said, “so I just ended up picking up my phone just doing the exact same thing and trying to contact.”
“I contacted my stepfather, my mother, and both of my brothers to try and see what they could do and try to get them to call the police to see what’s going on,” Harrison added, explaining that some students didn’t know if the school was holding some kind of drill until they confirmed on CBS News’ website that there was a shooting going on at their school.
Beth Feingold told the Associated Press that her daughter, Brittani, sent a text that said, “We’re on code red. I’m fine,” but followed up with another text saying, “Mom, I’m so scared.” She and her daughter were later reunited.
Len Murray told the AP that his 17-year-old son, who is a junior at the school, sent him a text saying: “Mom and Dad, there have been shots fired on campus at school. There are police sirens outside. I’m in the auditorium and the doors are locked,” according to the AP.
Moments later the teenager texted, “I’m fine.”
Murray told the AP that he raced to the school, but was stopped by authorities near a highway overpass within view of the building. He texted his son to save his battery and the boy’s mom texted him to turn off his ringer.
Source: Associated Press, Fox News