Student describes being in St. Louis school during shooting

ST. LOUIS, Mo. – A student who was inside Central Visual and Performing Arts High School recorded audio of the gunshots. Zaria explains what it was like to be inside the building when the shooting started.

A counselor told her that there was a shooting inside the building. She didn’t take it seriously at first because she didn’t believe it could happen at her school.

They went into the counselor’s office and put a bookshelf in front of a door. That is when they started to hear gunshots.

“Panic set in to my heart. We had kids who were crying. I tried to text my mom as that was going on. I started recording what happened. Then I put my phone down and started to look for something to defend myself with. I couldn’t get up to defend myself because the gunshots were coming too close. I couldn’t get up to defend myself because they were going back in for shooting. My teacher told me to lie down on the floor until the police officers came and got us,” said Zaria.

Zaria’s mother says that she found out about the shooting when her daughter called her. She was screaming, crying, and incoherent during the phone call. Her “mind was blown” by the news because she just dropped her off a half hour prior.

“While I was in there, I held onto my Jesus piece and prayed. There was nothing else I could do but to pray,” said Zaria.

Her mother asks for everyone to pray for their children’s safety and get them a cellphone. That was how she was able to get to the school so quickly.