PARKLAND, FLA. (WSVN) - A group of students were in the same classroom at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School when gunshots rang out, Feb. 14 — and now they say they have an unbreakable bond.
“Well, these are the only people who know exactly what we saw, exactly how we felt, because they were in the same room as us,” said shooting survivor Kelly Plaur.
There were 30 students inside Room 1214 in the freshman building.
“We heard gunshots, which almost sounded like pounding and like vibrating, like shaking throughout the building,” said shooting survivor Jessica Luckman.
“When we heard the first gunshots, I felt like we had about 10 seconds to hide,” said shooting survivor Rebecca Bogart.
The students had to decide which corner to hide in.
“Two halves,” said shooting survivor Daniel Zaphany. “There’s one half in the corner of the teacher’s desk, and then the other half was like near the windows.”
Aalayah Eastmond crouched in the corner with Helena Ramsay and Nicholas Dworet.
Nikolas Cruz pointed his gun at the door and began shooting inside the classroom.
“And then when I saw Helena lifeless, that’s when I realized, ‘OK, this is real,'” said Eastmond. “And then, when I saw her, that’s when Nicholas fell over, and then I just went underneath him and laid there.”
Six people inside that classroom were shot, including Samantha Fuentes.
“I think the scariest part was waiting,” said Bogart, “’cause we weren’t sure if he was gonna come in the room.”
Now, the students are leaning on each other to heal after the tragedy.
“It affects me like every day,” said Plaur. “So every time I wake up, it’s like I’m going through that same day again.”
The students created a group chat to talk to each other.
“It seems like the most genuine help you could get because we’ve all been through the same exact thing, so we know what type of help we need to get,” said shooting survivor Matthew Satar.
“We lean on each other for support,” said Zaphany. “Like, if one person’s down, everybody jumps in and is just like, ‘You’re OK. We’re here for you. You’re not alone.'”
“We’re all family now. Like, we have a bond that we won’t be able to share with anybody else,” said Eastmond, “’cause this is something that shouldn’t happen to anyone.”
All of the surviving students and the teacher from that classroom are included in the group chat, saying it provides comfort and closure.
“For it to happen in school — it can happen anywhere,” said Eastmond. “So you just have to appreciate every moment.”
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