Parkland survivor relives the same horror TWICE at FSU shooting
A mass shooting at Florida State University on Thursday left two people dead and six others injured — forcing survivors of a previous school massacre to once again relive their trauma.
Stephanie Horowitz, now a master's student at FSU, survived the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed.
On Thursday, she found herself caught in another horrifyingly similar scene — this time on her own college campus.
'I never thought it would happen to me for the first time, and here we are,' she told CBS Mornings. 'Unfortunately, this is America for you.'
Horowitz was teaching a one-credit class in a campus bowling alley when the shooting erupted. The music was so loud, no one heard the gunfire at first.
'We were lucky that some of my students looked out of the glass doors and saw everybody running,' she said.
What Horowitz saw when she stepped out from her desk stopped her cold: bags abandoned, laptops still open, total silence.
'Because of my past experience at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, I knew exactly what that meant,' she said.
Stephanie Horowitz, now a master's student at FSU, survived the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, where 17 people were killed
A mass shooting at Florida State University on Thursday left two people dead and six others injured — forcing survivors of a previous school massacre to once again relive their trauma
'I just started to direct everybody into the back room to safety until I got further information, but I had a feeling that it was an active shooter situation before I even heard.
'You looked out into that room and you knew there was an emergency. There was not anything there, no movement, dead silence and laptops, opened bags on the floor. I knew what that meant.'
Officials noted he had 'access to one of her weapons, and that was one of the weapons that was found at the scene.'
The Florida State University dining manager Robert Morales and his visiting supervisor Tiru Chabba were both killed when Ikner allegedly opened fire on campus.
Two of the six injured in the shooting were expected to be discharged from Tallahassee Memorial hospital at some point on Friday.
Three other victims' conditions are said to be improving, a spokesperson said on Friday, while another remained 'in fair condition'.
The campus was locked down as gunfire erupted, with students ordered to shelter in place as first responders swarmed the site moments after the lunchtime shootings.
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooter Nikolas Cruz sits at the defense table after his sentencing at the Broward County Courthouse November 2, 2022 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Phoenix Ikner (PICTURED) the 20-year-old alleged gunman who is said to have used his police mother's weapon in the fatal shooting at Florida State University
Horowitz, who was 15 and a freshman during the Parkland shooting, said the trauma changed how she lived her life.
'After that day, I kind of woke up every morning thinking that it could be my last,' she said. 'I was afraid for my life, every step that I took.'
Years later, she had finally started to feel safe again — until Thursday.
'I was able to walk around campus and feel safe, and here we are yet again and that was taken from me for a second time.'
Now, she's not ready to confront what just happened.
'I'm not ready to potentially go back to a place where I'm a little unsure and not feeling myself.'
Still, her first priority was making sure her students were protected.
'I was responsible for almost 30 students because I was the instructor. So I was looking out for their best interests and keeping them safe, and soon, I'll be able to process things myself.'
Aramark Collegiate Hospitality regional vice president Tiru Chabba was killed in the Florida State University mass shooting on Thursday
Robert Morales was shot dead on the Tallahassee campus after 20-year-old student Phoenix Ikner opened fire
Another FSU student, Robbie Alhadeff, also had his world shaken by the shooting. His younger sister Alyssa, just 14, was one of the 17 victims killed at Parkland.
He was walking home Thursday when messages about the gunfire started pouring in.
'I ran right back into my apartment because I was scared about the whole situation,' he told ABC News Live.
Alhadeff said many of his friends are fellow Parkland graduates — and all of them are traumatized again.
'A lot of the people I'm friends with are from Parkland and a lot of them go to FSU,' he said. 'This is the second time it's happened — and no one I know wants to go back to school.'
'You could end up being killed just going to learn,' he said. 'I thought this would never happen again, but it continuously keeps happening — and something has to change.'
Parkland parent Manuel Oliver, whose 17-year-old son Joaquin was murdered in 2018, said he's done being surprised by the headlines.
'I don't understand how anyone could be surprised' by another school shooting 'if we haven't done anything to stop it,' Oliver told ABC News Live.
Police officers walk past flowers left at the scene on Thursday afternoon
Ikner is seen in the above still stalking the campus with the firearm as the shooting unfolded
Now a vocal advocate for gun reform, Oliver said his activism will only grow.
'We will continue to fight — these kinds of events empower us to do more, different things, because whatever we've been trying is not enough,' he said.
'You don't want to be me ... so you better get involved. You better choose better leaders and ask and demand the safety of your kids.'
Fred Guttenberg, whose 14-year-old daughter Jaime also died in the Parkland massacre, said some of her former classmates were in the FSU student union when Thursday's shooting occurred.
'As a father, all I ever wanted after the Parkland shooting was to help our children be safe,' Guttenberg wrote on social media.
'Sadly, because of the many people who refuse to do the right things about reducing gun violence, I am not surprised by what happened today.'
Classes and campus events at FSU have been canceled through the weekend.
A candlelight vigil is scheduled for Friday at 5 p.m. as students and staff try to process a reality far too many have faced — more than once.
