TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – After the tragic shooting that unfolded on Florida State University’s campus, students who attend Downtown Community Church turned to prayer as the answer for a day filled with sorrow.
A 20-year-old gunman, a student and son of a Leon County Sheriff’s Office deputy, opened fire on the campus, leaving two dead and six injured.
Ella Williams was on campus when she got the alert that there was an active shooter.
“It was very surreal,” Williams said. “Everyone just kind of froze. We knew what we needed to do. We locked the door with desks and chairs. We closed all the windows, and we turned the lights off, and we kind of just sat in the corner and waited it out for a little bit.”
Miriam Sancey was working at a mobile coffee shop, not too far from the student union, when she heard about the shooting.
“We just stopped what we were doing, and we ran inside the nearby Calvin’s coffee, it’s like a church and coffee house situation. And they took us right in,” Sancey said. “I’m just really grateful that they opened up their doors to anyone that was needing shelter, because obviously we were in a very vulnerable place.”
Williams and Sancey turned to prayer during the lockdown. Once the campus received an all clear, they went to church.
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“I’m experiencing a lot of comfort from that, and just all gathering and praying over one another, praying over the people that were hurt, praying over the people that were involved in the incident, and then just hanging on to God’s Word over all the other words that are crowding us right now,” Williams said.
“I knew that I should probably come here because I really wanted to be able to see the people that I was fearing for their lives today, so I really wanted to be able to give them a hug tonight,” Sancey said.
The civic center was also a resource for students and families who needed counseling or healthcare.
