FSU student from Scarsdale recounts chaos of fatal shooting at school
Joseph Fama says he was at his apartment near the campus when gunfire erupted.
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A Florida State University student from Scarsdale recounted to News 12 the chaos that ensued during Thursday's school campus shooting that left two dead and at least five others wounded.
Joseph Fama says he was at his apartment near the campus when gunfire erupted just before noon.
As police swarmed the campus, text alerts from the university confirmed that an active shooter was on the loose.
"The police response was probably the best thing that happened...They were on the scene almost immediately. I heard many cop cars. It was a very successful police engagement. I believe there were helicopters on the scene. Thankfully, they stopped a much worse situation," he said.
Fama's frightened girlfriend Olivia sheltered in place in a campus classroom as the mass shooting continued.
She texted him, "There's gunshots" and "Everyone's freaking out!"
His mother, Denise Fama, says she received text messages about the deadly shootings from a group chat as she watched the news coverage on television. She was also able to reach her son by phone and he convinced her he was safe.
"It was a very long afternoon of being on the phone with him, getting texts from other people as it was unfolding, real time on the news. You're not even processing it at the moment...Afterwards, the real. I couldn't wait to get him home," she said.
The suspect, 20-year-old FSU student Phoenix Ikner, is expected to recover after police shot and wounded him.
Authorities say he used the service weapon of his stepmother, a sheriff's deputy, during the shooting.
Classes at FSU are expected to resume on Monday.
