Students Texted Their Parents Goodbye During the Florida Shooting

On February 14, a shooter entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, killing at least 17 people, CBS News reported. The former student reportedly used an AR-15 — a semi-automatic weapon that shooters have used during other attacks in the United States — and began shooting his former classmates after pulling the fire alarm. The school was quickly put on lockdown, and while the suspect was later taken into custody by police, students remained locked in classrooms and in other hiding spaces around school. What then transpired would have only been possible thanks to technology: Many began chronicling their very real terror in real time on social media and in texts.

Twitter users are circulating screenshots of conversations between Marjory Stoneman Douglas High students and their parents. One 14-year-old told his parents not to try to pick him up from school, warning, "It's not possible" and "You could get hurt" when asked if his mother would be able to meet him at school. Another student named Sarah told her parents, "If I don't make it I love you and I appreciate everything you did for me." Miami Herald reporter Chabeli Herrera later updated her post with information that Sarah was OK. "Her dad, a family medicine doctor, said he was afraid she would be one of the victims coming into Broward Health. She wasn’t," Chabeli said.

Other students shared videos from their experience inside the school. A student named Aidan shared a series of photos from under his desk, explaining that the school was on lockdown. "Please don’t just send your love to me, but pray for the victims’ families too. Love you all," he urged followers. He later told Twitter, "My brother and I are with our parents safely in the car. Thank you everyone, I appreciate the messages but we need healing."

In a now-viral tweet, Melody Ball shared a video her younger brother sent her of a SWAT team entering his classroom. Students were audibly scared by the team's sudden presence, and were told to put their phones down and their hands in the air. "So scary but glad he's safe," Melody wrote. She has since continued to signal boost pleas to help find students who have not been accounted for.

Parents also shared videos of the scene as they waited for their children to be released by law enforcement.

As we learn more details of the attack, news outlets will likely focus on the suspect's name, his motives, and his mental health, among other issues. But it's crucial to also remember the people who were directly affected by his actions, including his victims and the survivors who saw their classmates and teachers die. Republican lawmakers were quick to offer "thoughts and prayers" on Twitter, but maybe they should have stayed logged on long enough to see the devastating effect again that a lack of gun legislation has on the country. This isn't the first time this has happened — it's not even the first time a school has been the target of a shooting this month, or in 2018.

Related: We Have to Stop Pretending We Can’t Do Anything About Gun Violence