COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - Simone Kuffner, a Florida mom whose son attends the high school where a mass shooting took place Wednesday afternoon said she has not seen her son yet but knows he's OK.
Kuffner said her son, Shawn Kuffner, was running out of the school when she first spoke with him as the shooting happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL. He is a sophomore at the school.
"I am sitting here in my car in this traffic jam just like, I wish my car could fly at the moment," Kuffner said.
Deputies were called to the scene just before 3 p.m. on Wednesday. She said he's now safe at a friend's house.
Officials have identified the shooting suspect as Nicolas Cruz, a 19-year-old former student of the school. According to the Broward County Sheriff during a 6 p.m. press conference, 17 people were killed during the shooting.
Kuffner said they know some of Shawn's friends were shot and knows that one of them is OK. Kuffner, who is a nurse, said she got a text from her niece that a shooting happened at her son's school and she said she sprung out of the house.
"It was terrifying, actually. Even though he was out of the school safe, I mean, it's just scary, you just never know," Kuffner said. "And the thing isi you just don't know what to do. You see it happen all the time on the news, and they tell the parents to stay away, but obviously, your mother instinct says go and that's what I did."
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