RICHMOND, Ind. (WTHR) -Several parents held their children tightly as they picked them up from Richmond High School early Thursday afternoon, still in disbelief over the shooting incident at a Richmond school.
An armed 14-year-old went to the school, where authorities say he exchanged gunfire with police before killing himself.
"I freaked out," said Cynthia Kitchens, the mother of a 5th grade student at Dennis Intermediate School. "Started crying and tried to get here as fast as I could because didn't know if the kids were hurt and it scared the crap out of me."
Like other parents we spoke with, Kitchens was shocked. "Not in Richmond. This is the last place I thought something like this would happen," she said.
Her son James said he actually caught a glimpse of the gunman after he entered the school.
"When he came in, he ran by with some type of (weapon) in his hand running down the hallway," James said. I was so freaked out. We all moved to the back of the room and behind the teachers desk." he said.
James said he and his classmates were scared, many of them crying.
It was also traumatic for parents, who praised the quick response of police and school officials.
"I'm just glad to have my kids out and glad everyone else is safe. It's a good thing they locked down as fast as they did," said Jenny Smith.
Rod Reese left the high school carrying his middle school daughter while holding her crutches.
"I was really worried about that," he said, referring to her being on crutches while a lockdown was in place. "It's tough, you know. I'm just glad I got my kid back and we're going to make it."
All other schools, including the high school were also on lockdown with several students surprised to learn it wasn't a drill, which they practice regularly.
"I was in shock. I didn't realize it was a real one, said Jaiden Salavarria, a seventh grader.
Destiny Austin, a high school senior said when the principal announced over the intercom to "go on lockdown, we started pulling out our phones and stuff and looking and seeing all of it and we were like 'this can't be real.'"
Denise Holland, the mother of a seventh grader had that same feeling.
"You hear it on TV, you see it on TV all the time," she said. "But when it actually hits home, it's very, very scary."
The school district posted this on their Facebook page Thursday: