A student who witnessed the FSU campus mass shooting described the horrifying moment the gunman shot a woman in front of her. This Thursday afternoon, a shooter opened fire on students at Florida State University's (FSU) Tallahassee campus. It left multiple people seriously injured and two confirmed dead, according to People.
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McKenzie Heeter spoke to NBC News about witnessing the gunman opening fire outside the Student Union area. "I was leaving the union with my food," the FSU junior explained. "There's a road next to it and I was walking and this guy pulls up in an orange Hummer, and he gets out with a rifle and shoots in my direction."
Student Recalls Moment FSU Campus Gunman Shot Woman In Front Of Her
Heeter confirmed that she wasn't alone. "There were a couple other kids near me," she continued. "I think he was shooting and he missed. So he goes back into his car and grabs a pistol, then he turns and shoots the lady in front of him. That's when I just started running."
It's unimaginable how terrifying it must have been to see a gun pointed directly at you. She at first thought it was just a BB gun. That was, until he fired the gun, and it sounded quite real.
Heeter remembered hearing about 15 rounds firing. This happened for about 20 to 30 seconds. "When he turned back around with the pistol, I saw him shoot the lady like right in front of him," said Heeter. "She was probably like 5 feet in front of him with the pistol."
The junior said the woman was wearing purple scrubs, and she didn't look like she was a student or faculty. As soon as it was safe to do so, Heeter called the police to report the shooting at 11:57 AM.
She recalled the gunman looking like a "normal college dude." He was white with light-colored hair, and he sported an orange T-shirt with khaki shorts.
There weren't a ton of people around when the gunman first started shooting. "It was just me and like three other people that noticed at first," Heeter continued. "But we were walking in the opposite direction away from the union, so we started running."
Heeter told anyone she passed by to stay away from campus. "I ran back to my apartment as fast as I could," she said.
Police currently have one person in custody who they believe to be the suspect. All we know is that two people have died and six people have gone to the hospital with injuries. One was in critical condition, while five others were in serious condition.
