New Delhi:
A Florida State University student used chewing gum to cover their classroom windows with paper during a mass shooting on Thursday.
One of the students, Jeffrey LaFray, recalled the moment and said that while gunshots were being fired nearby, he and his classmates were inside it trying to hide and stay safe.
He told Good Morning America that their teacher wanted to cover the windows with paper so that the shooter couldn’t see inside, but they didn’t have tape to stick the paper. So, the students started chewing gum and then used it to stick the paper to the windows.
Remembering a terrifying moment, he said, “The teacher was asking if any of us had tape to tape up some paper. And no one had tape, and so some of us, we just got out our gum and started chewing so we could stick some paper to the windows.”
A mass shooting happened near the university’s campus, which was allegedly carried out by the stepson of a local deputy sheriff. 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner used her stepmother’s former service weapon to carry out the alleged attack.
Another FSU graduate student recalled a harrowing encounter during the mass shooting.
A 23-year-old, Madison Askins, shared an incident of how she survived pretending to be dead. Recalling an incident, Ms Askins said she was walking with a friend near a union building when she was shot in the buttocks.
She told ABC News, “When I was shot in the buttocks from behind, I fell to the ground, kept my eyes shut, and played dead. I released all the muscles in my body, closed my eyes, and held my breath. And I would take short breaths in between when I needed to.”
Ms Askins mentioned that she hoped to escape from the eyes of the shooter if she played dead. She said, “I know for certain if I was moving, he would’ve shot me again,” adding that the students scattered in every direction after they heard the gunman reloading his weapon and saying, “Keep running.”
Two people have been killed and five others have been injured in the mass shooting.
Mr Ikner is currently hospitalised as he was shot by the police during the incident.
