Students and parents emotionally respond to deadly shooting at Santa Fe High School
SANTA FE, Texas (KTRK) -- Parents, students and community members are overwhelmed with emotion after at least one gunman opened fire at a Santa Fe High School, killing 10 people.
RELATED: Timeline: How the deadly shooting at Santa Fe High School unfolded
The shooting took place in an art class on campus around 7:30 a.m. Students were immediately evacuated and searched before they were transported to Alamo Gym to be reunited with their parents.
During this time, many students and parents tearfully recounted the moments leading up to the tragic shooting.
"I told her, 'Mom there are gunshots. I heard four shots.' It was real this time. It wasn't real last time," a Santa Fe student shared her emotional words while she was talking to her mother and hiding from the gunman on campus.
Many students told Eyewitness News that someone pulled the fire alarm, which allowed many students to flee the campus and hide nearby or at a local gas station.
"I heard the alarms and everybody ran out," Dakota Shrader said. "At first all we heard was 'run, run,' and next thing you know we hear, 'boom, boom, boom.'"
"Everybody started running," she said, "and I tried to make it to the safest place that I could as fast as I can. I called my mom right away."
"She couldn't breathe, she was having an asthma attack," her mom added. "I didn't even know where to find her."
Authorities said 17-year-old Dimitrios Pagourtzis was the gunman. He was taken into custody, along with a person of interest. Both are said to be students at the school.
