Members of the Florida State College group will return to the areas in and across the scholar union constructing on Friday for the primary time since Thursday’s capturing.
They’re being allowed there to retrieve the non-public belongings they left behind — gadgets deserted within the chaos when gunfire shattered the calm and despatched college students fleeing for his or her lives.
McKenzie Heeter, a 20-year-old junior, was simply ft away from the gunman when the capturing started.
“I used to be leaving the union with meals in my hand,” McKenzie recalled. “I seen [an orange vehicle that looked like a Hummer]. Then I noticed him [wearing a matching orange shirt], waving round an even bigger rifle … after which he pulled out the handgun and shot that girl. That’s after I simply utterly ran.”
McKenzie describes sprinting throughout campus in sheer panic.
“I did a four-minute mile in sandals. I’ve by no means run that quick in my life,” she mentioned. “I felt like I’ve obtained to go away or else it could possibly be me subsequent.”
Whereas she says the whole afternoon feels surreal, one second replays vividly in her thoughts — the horrific second she noticed the suspect shoot a girl in purple scrubs from behind.
“Her again was to him. She was simply strolling. I don’t even assume she registered what occurred. That’s what I simply maintain eager about.”
Within the chaos, McKenzie’s first name was to her mother.
Evacuees watch regulation enforcement work on Florida State College (FSU) campus after a mass capturing in Tallahassee, Florida, U.S., April 17, 2025.
Alicia Devine/by way of Reuters
“She’s my greatest pal. I simply wished her to know I used to be okay,” she mentioned.
Investigators say the gunman killed two individuals, neither of them college students, and injured six others who’ve but to be recognized.
One suffered vital accidents however, on Thursday night, was upgraded with the remainder of the injured survivors to truthful situation.
The accused gunman, a stepson of an area sheriff’s deputy, was additionally taken to the hospital for non-life-threatening accidents after regulation enforcement brokers shot him.
Investigators say the suspect used a handgun that was as soon as his stepmother’s service weapon. He was additionally carrying a shotgun, investigators say.
As the whole campus continues to course of the trauma, McKenzie tells ABC Information that her sense of security has been shattered.
“Essentially the most heartbreaking half is that everyone feels unsafe now. Somebody simply got here and took that from us,” she mentioned.
