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During a mass shooting near Florida State University on Thursday, students inside a classroom resorted to chewing gum to stick paper over windows in a desperate attempt to stay hidden from the gunman.
Jeffrey LaFray, a student at FSU, shared the harrowing moment on Good Morning America, recalling how gunfire rang out nearby as he and his classmates scrambled to protect themselves. Their teacher suggested covering the classroom windows with paper to prevent the shooter from seeing inside—but there was no tape.
“The teacher was asking if any of us had tape to tape up some paper. And no one had tape,” LaFray said. “So some of us, we just got out our gum and started chewing so we could stick some paper to the windows.”
The shooting, which occurred near FSU’s campus, has been linked to 20-year-old Phoenix Ikner, the stepson of a local deputy sheriff. Ikner allegedly used his stepmother’s former service weapon to carry out the attack. Two people were killed, and five others injured in the incident.
Another FSU student, 23-year-old Madison Askins, recounted a terrifying brush with death. She told ABC News that she was walking with a friend near the student union when she was shot from behind in the buttocks.
“When I was shot… I fell to the ground, kept my eyes shut, and played dead,” she said. “I released all the muscles in my body, closed my eyes, and held my breath. And I would take short breaths in between when I needed to.”
Askins believed staying motionless saved her life. “I know for certain if I was moving, he would’ve shot me again,” she said, describing how students fled in all directions when they heard the gunman reload and shout, “Keep running.”
Phoenix Ikner was shot by police and is currently hospitalized.
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