TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WFLA) — Following the fatal mass shooting at Florida State University, FSU students gathered at the Capitol on Tuesday to appeal to lawmakers and the university administration to ensure this doesn’t happen again.
Students are seeking more protection in classrooms and campus to ensure safety.
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“We needed those locks on the doors,” said FSU freshman Simon Montereone. “We needed students to be safe, and in those times they couldn’t feel safe.”
The alarm goes off, and students run and fight for their lives, and feel that many people can’t explain it. That was the reality of hundreds of Florida as active shooters walked through campus.
Just above the road, about a mile from campus, there was a state Capitol building where many lawmakers were there that day.
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“When I transferred to Florida State last fall, I didn’t think I was trapped in the classroom, so I don’t know if I’ll see my loved one again,” said Andres, a student at FSU.
He called for unity at Statehousea to bring about change to Republicans, Kaknorr and universities.
“When I entered that room, the discovery was made that day that no one wanted to make when they were hiding from the active shooter,” Monteleone said. “The door inside Bellamy refused to lock.”
Students like Simon Montereone, who was alone when the alarm for active shooters went out, requested that they need classroom doors for professors, TAs, students, training in active shooters, and locking mental health resources for the affected people.
In their call to action, they hope that state legislators will hear them loudly and clearly and consider the next legislative meeting to reform stronger guns.
“The lack of aggressive planning and poor policy in our legislators’ hands is the two people who should not be dead, six people in hospitals, thousands of students who feel that they are no longer safe on campus, and the community still shaking from the pointless acts of violence, and we will not fix it.
Reflecting that response, Driskell, D-Tampa, the leader of the minority, said, “My faith says I say I pray and do nothing.”
Driskel said he has been in touch with FSU regarding concerns about locking classroom doors and informed the university that Congress could partner with them to provide reforms and additional resources to make it happen.
As for State House Republicans, they were not assembled with students at a press conference Tuesday.
