Image by Daniel McCullough.

I got one of the worst text messages a parent can receive at 12:05 p.m. on April 17. “Active shooter.”

My daughter is in her final two weeks of undergraduate studies at Florida State University, where a shooter, later identified as FSU student Phoenix Ikner, opened fire. As I write, still the day of the shooting, two people have died and six others are injured. The six likely includes Ikner, who refused to comply with police commands and was shot and hospitalized but as of this writing is not in critical condition.

My courageous daughter knew that the best thing to do when she heard gun shots from her classroom was to keep her head and run. She and many students did. Her boyfriend was tabling outside of the Student Union representing a student organization he helps lead. He too knew to run. This was where the shooting happened. I cannot imagine the fear. They found each other on the other side of campus and wisely kept running, more than a mile until they reached a friend’s house off campus.

I finally got to........

© CounterPunch