The shooting happened in the area of the student union, where junior McKenzie Heeter says she was only a couple of yards away from the shooter
Florida State University junior McKenzie Heeter decided to grab lunch on what she described as a "normal" day on campus.
The communications major from Jacksonville was making the short walk back to her apartment with her food when she saw a guy in an orange Hummer pull up in the area of the student union.
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WATCH HERE"I just know it looked like a normal college white dude – khaki shorts, t-shirt, he had a really nice car," Heeter told NBC6 over the phone. "...to me, he just looked like a student – until he pulled out the gun."
Heeter said the person waved around a rifle, let out a shot towards her and another group of students, but missed.
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"We all got kind of really alarmed, like, what the heck?" she said. "And then he turns back into his car and gets the pistol. And that’s when he turns forward and shoots the lady in front of him in the back while she was walking."
Heeter booked it.
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"I just ran, and I could hear the shots echoing," she said.
On Thursday afternoon, police responded to a report of an active shooter on the Tallahassee campus. Currently, two people have died and five people have been hospitalized.
A shooter is in custody. Officials haven't released any information on identity, age or motive, but they are believed to be an FSU student.
"He like, looked angry... when he got the pistol and turned toward the other lady and just shot her, I knew he had no target and it was just, like, you know, shoot everybody. And that's when I took off," she said.
The junior said she wasn't supposed to be on campus that day, but decided to grab lunch because "it was a nice day."
She said she was only a couple of yards away from the shooter.
"It could’ve been me," she said.
Heeter called her mom, screaming and crying as she made the five-minute run back to her apartment while telling everyone she saw not to go to campus.
"I just feel lucky …I just keep thinking about the woman in purple scrubs," Heeter said, her voice breaking.
The campus is in a state of shock and panic, but Heeter said she feels the community is resilient.
“Today was a very terrible day. But we will get through it together. There are amazing people at FSU … and I feel strongly that it might take some time, but we will be able to come back together again," she said.
