Sara Shourds woke up at 12:30 a.m. Thursday to a missed call from her twin sister, Natalie, a Florida State University freshman.
Not wanting to disturb her roommate, Shourds, 19, a UF nursing freshman, texted her back to make sure everything was okay — Natalie never calls that late.
“There’s a man with a gun that just shot at someone on the first floor,” Natalie wrote back. “I’m hiding with everyone else on the second floor. Just know that I love you, Sara.”
Shourds said she leapt out of bed, shaking so hard she had trouble getting the key in the door handle.
“I was super scared,” she said. “I was tearing up picturing her being shot.”
But Natalie said she was fine, hiding behind bookshelves with a group of people. When the gunman was caught, she hung up and followed the evacuation protocol, where she walked through metal detectors and was patted down twice. She was held in a lecture hall near the library until 4 a.m. Classes were canceled that day, so she didn’t have to go to her 8 a.m. lab or take the trigonometry test she had been studying for.
The shooting at FSU’s Strozier Library brought UF students together around campus Thursday.
Some students came together in prayer at Gator Wesley. They bowed their heads, joining hands as they prayed for FSU. Some students were near tears as they spoke about how fragile and precious life is.
Danielle Russell, a 19-year-old UF animal science sophomore, drew a heart and colored it in with orange, blue, red and yellow crayons to send FSU Wesley.
There were no Gators and no Seminoles — only unity.
“This is a terrible thing,” Russell said of the shooting. “I love how UF and FSU have been able to come together.”
Praying gives Russell a sense of security and hope, she said. Faith replaced her fear as she came together with her fellow ministry members.
Farther down West University Avenue, four UF students followed their missionary to the wooden pews in the St. Augustine Church. They repeated Hail Marys under the jewel-toned stained-glass windows as they prayed for the victims, the students and the shooter’s family.
“I feel at peace that the hearts and lives of those involved are in God’s hands,” said Kaitelyn Miller, the church’s missionary.
Brittany Petrelli, 19, said prayer is the best form of love.
“We’re showing the way we love FSU and those affected,” the UF linguistics sophomore said.
Others looked to the legislature to make change. UF alumnus Naveen Mudaliar called Sen. Doc Renuart on Thursday to bring up the issue of concealed carry.
“I said I had an opinion for the representative about a law change that has to be made,” Mudaliar, 24, said. “I told them that I think the legislature should take up allowing concealed carry for adults on Florida’s public university campuses.”
Mudaliar said he thinks it’s important to expand the concealed carry law to include college campuses because criminals don’t follow the law and will bring guns to campus to commit mass shootings, robberies and rape.
“Students and faculty are prohibited to protect themselves, and I think that there should be a law change allowing that,” he said.
Mudaliar said he has called the Senate before on this issue, and he plans to do so again in spring when the legislature is back in session.
“I’ve been thinking about gun issues for some time, and my views aren’t in response to the shooting,” he said. “But I hope some good will come from changing the law.”
UF President Bernie Machen released a statement Thursday addressing the FSU shooting.
“I know everyone in the University of Florida community joins me in sending our heartfelt thoughts and prayers to the victims and to the entire FSU community,” Machen wrote in a statement. “Today, we are all FSU.”
UF Senate President Joseph Michaels said he and other senators are drafting a piece of legislation to highlight the collegiate camaraderie with FSU.
“It’s important that we do support the university at this time and throughout the year,” Michaels said.
The bill will be presented at next Tuesday’s Senate meeting.
“It’s emphasizing how important it is we have a strong relationship, but also sharing our sentiment in regarding the well-being of those families,” Michaels said.
Shourds said she is relieved her sister left the scene unharmed.
“She’s my very best friend in the whole world,” Shourds said. “She told me I’m the first person she thinks of to call for anything.”
Alligator staff writer Ariana Figueroa contributed to this report
[A version of this story ran on page 1 on 11/21/2014]
Students and members of Gator Wesley Foundation on West University Avenue hold hands and pray Thursday afternoon. The prayer vigil was held in response to the Florida State University shooting Thursday morning.
