As the threat of an active shooter sent the Florida State University campus into lockdown Thursday afternoon, panic and confusion spread far beyond school grounds — especially for the students sheltering in place and the parents desperately trying to reach them.
Ava Arenado, an FSU student who was in class when the university alert went out, described a terrifying scene that quickly unfolded around her.
“One of my classmates got an alert on her phone and announced it to the rest of the class,” Arenado told CBS News Miami. “My teacher immediately started barricading the door… and then another student said she’d rather go home, so we all just kind of ran to our cars.”
Arenado said she made the split-second decision to flee, believing the threat was far enough from her location to make it to her car and return safely to her apartment. But even as she ran, fear for others weighed heavily.
“It just didn’t feel real,” she said. “I was really just scared for [a classmate’s] safety and mine too.”
She said she had a friend near the student union — the area where police responded to the initial report around 12:01 p.m. — who claimed to have heard gunshots before law enforcement began arriving. But beyond that, most students were in the dark about what was actually happening.
“No one really has seen or heard much,” Arenado said. “Everyone’s really confused… especially with social media. It’s really hard to understand what’s real and what’s not.”
The confusion extended to the families watching from a distance.
How a mother of FSU students found out about the shooting
Vivian, the mother of two FSU students, said her daughter was the one who first called her about the alert.
“I’m still shaking, even though both my kids are okay,” she told CBS News Miami. “I was just very nervous… I immediately thought of my son and asked my daughter to reach out to him to make sure he was okay.”
Both of Vivian’s children were in their off-campus apartments at the time — close enough to hear sirens and commotion but far enough to avoid direct danger. Still, she said the uncertainty was overwhelming.
“We’re just waiting for the all clear,” she said. “They have friends that are still in classrooms hiding.”
Vivian, like many parents, had joined online chats with other families trying to sort fact from fiction. “There’s a lot of misinformation going around,” she said, referencing photos and rumors of multiple shooters. “So not sure what to believe.”
A familiar fear for one South Florida father and son
For Fort Lauderdale resident John Mancuso, the wait to hear his son was safe brought back painful memories. His son Domenic, now a freshman at FSU, was sheltering in a campus gym when the shooting occurred.
It was not the first time he had endured such a moment. As a sixth grader, Domenic sheltered in place during the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.
“This is just a connection, a special connection me and my dad always had,” Domenic said, recalling how his first instinct was to call his father.
John, who was alerted to the situation by the university, said, “There’s so many scenarios that went through my head, but as soon as I heard him on the phone, I knew we were going to be OK.”
Two dead, several hospitalized and a suspect in custody
Two people were killed and six others were injured, Tallahassee police said. Authorities confirmed that a suspect is in custody after being shot in an exchange of gunfire with police.
Police said the gunman was believed to be a 20-year-old FSU student. He has been identified as the son of a Leon County deputy sheriff.
The Florida Department of Law Enforcement, along with the FBI and other agencies, responded to the incident. Classes and events on campus were canceled for the remainder of the week.
As the community awaited answers, the emotions from those closest to the crisis remain raw.
“I’ve had a lot of drills,” Arenado said. “But because of how big the school is… I really was scared this was something serious.”
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