Members of the Florida State University community will return to areas in and around the Student Union Building on Friday for the first time since the shooting on Thursday.
They were allowed there to take the personal items they left behind -the items left behind in chaos when shots destroyed calm and send students to escape to their lives.
McKenzie Heeter, a 20 -year -old junior, only a few meters from the armed man when the shooting began.
“I left the union with food in my hand,” Mckenzie recalled. “I noticed [an orange vehicle that looked like a Hummer]. Then I saw it [wearing a matching orange shirt]waved around a bigger rifle … and then he took out a gun and shot the woman. That’s when I really ran. “
McKenzie described running across the campus with panic.
“I did a four -minute sandals for four minutes. I never ran that fast in my life,” he said. “I feel I have to go or that can be me next.”
While he said all afternoon felt surrealis, one moment repeated clearly in his mind – a terrible moment he saw the suspect shot a woman in a purple scrub from behind.
“His back for him. He just walked. I didn’t even think he registered what happened. That’s what I kept thinking.”
In chaos, Mckenzie’s first call was to his mother.
Evacues Watch law enforcement work at the Florida State University (FSU) campus after mass shooting at Tallahassee, Florida, USA, April 17, 2025.
Alicia Devine/Via Reuters
“He’s my best friend. I just want him to know I’m fine,” he said.
Investigators said the armed man killed two people, none of them were students, and injured six other people who had not been identified.
A person suffered a critical injury but, on Thursday night, was enhanced by the injured survivors to a fair condition.
The armed man accused, a stepchildren from the local Sheriff representative, was also taken to the hospital because of an injury that was not life -threatening after law enforcement agents fired him.
Investigators said the suspect used a gun that was once his stepmother service weapon. He also brought a shotgun, the investigator said.
When the entire campus continued to process trauma, Mckenzie told ABC News that his security had been destroyed.
“The most heartbreaking part is that everyone feels insecure now. Someone just came and took it from us,” he said.