As more information is revealed about the Florida school shooting, relatives of those in Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School at the time are describing the terror of not knowing whether their loved ones were safe.
While a gunman rampaged through the school with an AR-15, Lisette Rozenblatt said that she was with her husband when they began receiving desperate texts from their daughter informing them what was happening and urging them to stay away.
Videos by PopCulture.com
“She kept texting me and she kept saying she was fine, and she was hiding,” Rozenblatt told PEOPLE. “She told me to please call the police because somebody was hurt, and she kept hearing that person crying out for help.”
Rozenblatt’s daughter told her that the fire alarm had been pulled, but her teacher, noting that there had been a fire drill earlier in the day, knew that something was wrong and instructed students not to leave the classroom.
“Thank God for that teacher who said do not leave this room,” she said. “Some kids ran out and they saw police officers and they heard gunshots, and it was just a crazy scene and they ran back into the classroom. Those kids were stuck in the classrooms, locked away.”
Michael Udine, County Commissioner of Broward County, whose daughter and niece attend the high school, said that he began receiving similar text messages.
“My niece was hiding in a closet with her teachers until the incident was resolved,” he said. “It’s just scary that this can happen in your backyard.”
Police took Nikolas Cruz, a former student at the school, into custody shortly after. He is believed to have entered the school armed with an AR-15, several magazines of ammunition, a gas mask, and smoke grenades, pulling the fire alarm just before dismissal. As students began piling into the hallway, he opened fire, killing 17 and injuring 15.
Law enforcement has announced that Cruz, 19, had legally purchased the automatic rifle about a year ago. He has since been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder.
