One Florida State University (FSU) student, Stephanie Horowitz, who survived the April 17 shooting, revealed she had previously survived the horrifying Parkland massacre back in 2018. Horowitz revealed how she helped others during the latest FSU shooting, regretting that now "this is America."
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In an interview with CBS News, Horowitz, a master's student at FSU, revealed how her traumatic experience at the Parkland shooting gave way to her learning how to deal with situations of this sort. She, however, regrets this has happened again to her, but to the country in general.
"I never thought it would happen to me for the first time, and here we are," Horowitz told the outlet. "Unfortunately, this is America for you."
Surviving FSU
On Thursday, April 17, 20-year-old FSU student Phoenix Ikner allegedly carried out the mass shooting on campus, killing two people and injuring six others. Horowitz, at the time of the latest shooting, was in the bowling alley alongside her students, as she is an instructor. Due to the loud music being played in the alley, they didn't notice the horrifying and chaotic scene unfolding outside. However, her students noticed something when looking through the alley's glass doors.
"We were lucky that some of my students looked out of the glass doors and saw everybody running," Horowitz continued. Quickly, she came out of her desk and noticed belongings left behind. This scene became too familiar to her, and she knew what was happening: there was an active shooter on the FSU campus.
"I just started to direct everybody into the back room to safety until I got further information," Horowitz added. "I had a feeling that it was an active shooter situation before I even heard. You looked out into that room and you knew there was an emergency. There was not anything there, no movement, dead silence and laptops, opened bags on the floor. I knew what that meant."
Surviving Parkland
Stephanie Horowitz was a 15-year-old freshman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School back in 2018. She survived the violent and deadly Parkland massacre carried out by Nikolas Cruz. Cruz killed 17 and injured 18 others. He was sentenced to life in prison without parole on November 2, 2022.
"After that day, I kind of woke up every morning thinking that it could be my last," Horowitz revealed. "I was afraid for my life, every step that I took."
However, while she was left traumatized by the event and hasn't processed this latest shooting, her trauma allowed her to save others. She became a hero, but she now has to deal with the scars of another mass shooting.
Phoenix Ikner was shot down by officers and suffered serious but non-life-threatening injuries, according to Tallahassee Police Chief Lawrence Revell. Revell added that Ikner will face charges "up to and including first-degree murder," as per CNN.
