Horrifying cell phone footage reveals the moment a Florida gunman opened fire on high school students injuring up to 50.
The video, taken by a student in one of the classrooms at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and shared on Twitter by CBS Evening news, shows multiple students crouching under desks.
The sound of gunfire echoes out across the room as ear-piercing screams ring out.
Students are seen scrambling and crouching to the floor and a male student close by shouts: ‘Oh my God, oh my God. Oh my God’.
The sound of gunfire echoes out across the room as ear-piercing screams ring out
Students are seen scrambling and crouching to the floor inside the Florida high school
The video was taken by a student in one of the classrooms at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and shared on Twitter
A shivering girl in a floral dress is immediately in front of the cameraman and ducks to the floor while another boy is seen lying next to her.
It is unclear if the gunfire is inside the classroom or not
The rapid popping sounds like fire from a semi-automatic assault rifle or a handgun.
Dozens of students barricaded themselves in classrooms and teachers ushered groups into confined safe spaces including closets when the school in Parkland came under attack.
Photographs shared by those in lock down showed them hiding under desks and chairs.
Terrified parents rushed to the scene of the attack and were left in an agonizing wait. Many communicated with their children on cell phones while others texted students and got no reply.
The shaky cell phone footage scans the classroom as the chilling sound of gunfire rings out
Children at the back of the classroom, cower in fear. It is unclear how close the gunman was or if he had opened fire inside
One boy screams ‘Oh my God, Oh my God’ as a girl in a floral dress cowers in front of him
It is unclear where the gunman is in the footage taken from inside the Florida school
A father named Caesar Figueroa told CBS of his anguish.
‘My daughter is with a friend and is trapped in a closet,’ she said. ‘She is afraid to talk out loud. It’s like a war zone here with cops, machine guns, helicopters. The FBI is here, everyone is here. I told my daughter not to call me because I don’t want anyone to hear her voice.’
Miami reporter Rick Folbaum said he was exchanging messages with a child hiding in a closet.
‘I’m continuing to text with a student, a young girl who I know well, who is in the building right now who told me that she heard a loud noise and what sounded like gunfire, three shots’, he said.
‘She texted: All of a sudden there was a really loud noise…..people are crying the closet.’
One mother, Michelle, said her daughter sent her a text that said: ‘There’s been a shooting in school … and it’s for real.’
Speaking outside the police perimeter, she added: ‘She was texting me up until about four minutes ago and now she’s not responding and I’m getting nervous. Last she texted me she was in a building from across where the shooting was at. I’m on pins and needles because she isn’t responding to me now.’
Hiding in fear: Multiple students shared photos from inside classrooms of the high school
Students showed how they were cowering in fear under desks as gunfire broke out
Fleeing: Some students were evacuated from the school while others were barricaded inside while the active shooter situation was dealt with
Running in terror: Dozens of students with their backpacks still on their backs were filmed fleeing