SCENE. GUYS, BACK TO YOU.
>> GADI SCHWARTZ.
THANK YOU.
THANK YOU. AS THIS INVESTIGATION MOVES
FORWARD STUDENTS WHO WERE INSIDE
THOSE CLASSROOMS ARE COMING TO
TERMS WITH ALL THAT THEY HAVE
SEEN.
SEEN. LADIES, GOOD MORNING TO YOU.
JUST MY FIRST QUESTION.
I CAN’T IMAGINE WHAT YOU SAW,
WHAT YOU WITNESSED.
HOW ARE YOU FEELING THIS
MORNING?
MORNING? HOW ARE YOU DOING?
>> IT’S BEEN A ROUGH COUPLE OF
HOURS, BUT I KNOW IN TIME
EVERYBODY WILL HOPEFULLY BE
OKAY.
OKAY. AND I HOPE THAT I CAN HELP THEM
START TO BE OKAY.
>> NUI, CAN YOU WALK US THROUGH
WHAT HAPPENED YESTERDAY?
>> WE WERE ALL IN OUR NINTH
PERIOD CLASSES.
PERIOD CLASSES. MINE WAS MISS HARPER’S BRITISH
LITERATURE.
LITERATURE. AND THE SHOOTER CAME IN LATE.
HE WALKED TO THE OTHER SIDE OF
THE CLASSROOM WHERE WE ALSO HAD
ANOTHER DOOR AND HE OPENED THE
DOOR.
DOOR. HE WALKED BACK AS IF HE WAS
GOING TO GO BACK TO HIS SEAT.
THEN HE WALKED BACK TO THE DOOR
AND HE CLOSED IT.
THE NEXT THING I KNOW HE’S
PULLING A GUN AND HE IS TELLING
NOBODY TO MOVE, AND THAT’S WHEN
KENDRICK LUNGED AT HIM AND HE
SHOT KENDRICK, GIVING ALL OF US
ENOUGH TIME TO GET UNDERNEATH
OUR DESKS TO GET OURSELVES SAFE
AND TO RUN ACROSS THE ROOM TO
ESCAPE.
ESCAPE. I WANT TO THANK BRENDAN BAILEY,
JACKSON GREGORY, AND LUCAS
ALBRATONI, SOME OF THE KIDS
BRAVE ENOUGH TO BRING HIM DOWN
SO THAT ALL OF US COULD ESCAPE
AND ALL OF US COULD BE REUNITED
WITH OUR FAMILIES.
>> SOUNDS LIKE THOSE BOYS WERE
SO HEROIC IN A MOMENT THAT THEY,
TOO, MUST HAVE BEEN TERRIFIED.
>> THEY WERE VERY HEROIC.
I CAN’T THANK THEM ENOUGH.
>> DID YOU KNOW THE SHOOTER
BEFORE YESTERDAY?
BEFORE YESTERDAY? >> I DID.
>> I DID. I KNEW HIM FOR FOUR YEARS.
AND HE WAS VERY KIND TO ME, BUT
I NEVER THOUGHT THAT HE WOULD DO
SOMETHING LIKE THIS.
>> DID HE GO TO THAT CLASS?
HE HAD THAT CLASS WITH YOU?
>> HE HAD THAT CLASS WITH ME.
>> NICKI, I CAN’T IMAGINE HOW
YOU FEEL AS A MOM.
YOU GET A CALL LIKE THIS.
YOU HEAR THIS REPORT.
YOU RACE TO THE SCHOOL.
WHAT WAS GOING THROUGH YOUR
MIND?
MIND? WHAT HAS THIS EXPERIENCE BEEN
LIKE FOR YOU?
>> IT’S BEEN SO HARD, BUT I DID
GET TO HOLD MY BABIES LAST
NIGHT.
NIGHT. AND THEY ARE HOME WITH ME NOW.
IT WAS AN ABSOLUTE NIGHTMARE.
>> YOU HAVE A SON WHO IS ALSO A
FRESHMAN AT THAT SCHOOL, AS I
UNDERSTAND IT, NICKI.
NUI, YOU SAID IT WAS IMPORTANT
FOR YOU TO BE BACK ON THAT
CAMPUS THIS MORNING TO TALK TO
US.
US. WHY IS IT SO IMPORTANT FOR YOU
TO BE BACK AT THAT SCHOOL?
>> BECAUSE I DON’T WANT TO GIVE
THE SHOOTERS THE SATISFACTION OF
BEING AFRAID OF SOMEPLACE THAT
WAS MY SECOND HOME FOR FOUR
YEARS.
YEARS. I WANT TO SHOW THEM THAT EVEN
THOUGH THEY DID THIS TERRIBLE,
TERRIBLE THING, THAT WE CAN ALL
COME TOGETHER AND THAT WE CAN
ALL MAKE IT A HAPPY PLACE AGAIN.
BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT REALLY
MATTERS.
MATTERS. >> NUI AND NICKI, WE SO
APPRECIATE YOU SPENDING TIME
WITH US THIS MORNING.
WE KNOW IT’S EARLY THERE.
YOUR WORDS ARE SO IMPORTANT.