Emergency alerts, desks barricading doors, shoes abandoned in the grass: How the FSU mass shooting upended the campus

A perfect, sun-drenched Florida spring day suddenly descended into horror when a gunman began hunting down victims near Florida State University’s student union building, marking the next chapter in America’s grim epidemic of gun violence.

It was an ordinary afternoon for Jayden D’Onofrio, who was spending time with a friend at their apartment complex when they received a text that made their blood run cold. An active shooter was on campus, and their friend was hiding in the library. Without a second thought, they ran to her. A perfect, sun-drenched Florida spring day had suddenly descended into horror when a gunman began firing at victims near Florida State University’s student union building, marking the next chapter in America’s grim epidemic of 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 told CNN. “There’s no words to sort of describe that feeling and that experience.”