When gunfire began raining out at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, students started saying their goodbyes to parents via text messages.
“If I don’t make it I love you and appreciate everything you did for me,” Sarah Crescitelli, 15, wrote to her parents from a school bathroom, where she hid for two hours.
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“Don’t talk that way,” one of her parents replied. “The cops are all over.”
Sarah survived the shooting, and had an emotional reunion with her parents. They shared her texts with the Miami Herald Wednesday.
“We’re in a real code red dad, get me ASAP it’s not a drill,” one student wrote to his father, who read the texts to WSB-TV. “I hear gunshots. We just got a code-red notification so get me ASAP. There are gunshots in our school. Hell, someone died. Come now.”
This father reads a terrifying text message from his child caught up in today’s shooting at a Florida high school: https://t.co/n8iEBKJRYL We have the latest tonight at 11 pic.twitter.com/FXs0Pf13eG
— WSB-TV (@wsbtv) February 15, 2018
Other parents sent screenshots to reporters on Twitter. Their son told his parents to stay away from the school out of fear for their safety.
“Ok. Is it all over? Mom wants to come get you now/ Is that even possible?” the boy’s father wrote in a message shared with the Miami Herald reporter Carli Teproff.
Parent’s conversation with -14-year-old son who is currently in lockdown. pic.twitter.com/6M4f0FrbZJ
— Carli Teproff (@CTeproff) February 14, 2018
“It’s not over we are on lockdown. No it’s not possible. You could get hurt,” the son replied.
“Ok. Stay safe buddy. Love you,” the father replied. “Be safe man. Stay hidden or play dead if there is an active shooter.”
Teproff later confirmed that the parents and their son were reunited.
According to the Daily Mail, another dad wrote to his child, who told his father there was screaming.
“There’s screaming near by. What’s going on,” the son wrote. “Make a blockade with the tables… or go into a closet,” the father wrote. “I love u babes.”
“I love you too,” his son, who was later reunited with his family, replied. “U will be OK. Just pray.”
Another student named Hannah texted her sister Kaitlin for help, telling her to call 911.
“Kaitlin I am not joking they just shot through the walls someone my class is injured,” Hannah wrote.
“I love you so much,” Kaitlin replied.
Kaitlin later posted the exchange on Twitter to confirm that Hannah was OK.
The frantic messages were sent Wednesday afternoon, when the suspected gunman, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, opened fire. Seventeen people, including teachers and students, were killed. Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. Police say he used an AR-15-type rifle, which he legally bought. He is a former student and was expelled for disciplinary reasons.
