On what began as a typical afternoon for Jayden D’Onofrio, a serene Florida spring day quickly transformed into a nightmare. While spending time with a friend at their apartment complex, an alarming text shattered their peace: an active shooter was on campus, and their friend was hiding in the library. Without hesitation, D’Onofrio sprinted to her aid. This tragic incident unfolded near Florida State University’s student union building, marking yet another chapter in America’s ongoing struggle with gun violence.
“That is one of the most gutting feelings possible, to not know if your friends are okay… and if they’re going to make it through that moment,” D’Onofrio recounted to CNN. The once idyllic lawns, where students typically gather to study and socialize, have now become haunting reminders of the lives lost. Just weeks before graduation, the campus was rocked by a shooting that claimed two lives and left five others injured. The alleged shooter, a student at the university and the son of a local sheriff’s deputy, escalated the fears surrounding gun violence in educational environments.
For D’Onofrio, the reality of gun violence is all too familiar. This shooting comes seven years after the devastating mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which resulted in 17 deaths. D’Onofrio was in seventh grade when he received news of the Parkland shooting, and he recalls the fear instilled in him through monthly school shooting drills. “This is just another chapter of that,” he reflected.
As news of the shooting spread, Florida State University initiated a lockdown. Emergency alerts urged students and staff to shelter in place. Inside classrooms, students crouched beneath desks, frantically texting loved ones. In one classroom, students barricaded the door, a desperate measure to protect themselves from harm. “I saw this police officer with an assault rifle, and I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, this is real,’” shared Holden Mamula, a political science and statistics major. He described the harrowing experience as a stark reminder of the ongoing crisis of gun violence in America.
Amid the chaos, videos captured the harrowing realities of the shooting. One student, hiding behind a bush, recorded the aftermath, revealing a body lying still in the grass while others fled in terror. McKenzie Heeter, who was leaving the student union, witnessed the shooter brandishing a gun and firing into a crowd. “When he turned to the woman and shot her, that’s when I realized, there was no target,” Heeter explained. “It was anybody he could see.” The fear was palpable as she ran, hearing the relentless sound of gunfire echoing behind her.
Many students fled to the nearby Co-Cathedral of St. Thomas More, where Father Luke Farabaugh provided sanctuary. “People started pouring into the cathedral with a fear that I had never seen before,” Farabaugh described, highlighting the surreal nature of the situation. After hours of uncertainty, students were evacuated from campus buildings, many collapsing into tears and embracing loved ones as they emerged from hiding.
“You go to school to get your degree, make friends, you make memories, not to go to school to experience stuff like this,” remarked Garrett Harvey, an FSU student. D’Onofrio echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the need for change. “This isn’t normal. It keeps happening, again and again. It’s depressing, and there’s no real action being taken to change it, especially here in Florida.”
The issue of gun violence in the US has escalated into a relentless crisis, with 81 mass shootings reported so far this year, according to the Gun Violence Archive. As students returned to retrieve belongings abandoned during the chaos, they were met with a grim scene: evidence markers and shell casings littering the grass where once there was laughter and learning.
On the night of the shooting, a mass was held at the church where many sought refuge. Father Farabaugh expressed the somber reality the community faced as they entered Holy Week: “We will be entering into this Holy Week in a different way this year.” The tragedy serves as a stark reminder of the urgency to address gun violence and protect innocent lives in educational environments across America.
