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Grief-stricken FSU students in 'disbelief' as memorial for victims grows

Senior Julia Kuhn tells WPTV she could see 'fear in people's eyes' as they sprinted to safety

WPTV

Students gather at Florida State University on April 18, 2025, to remember the victims killed in a shooting on campus.

By: Kate Hussey

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TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Heartbreak and uncertainty weighed heavily on Friday for students at Florida State University, many of whom added to a growing memorial outside the campus student union.

A day after the fatal shooting claimed two lives and injured six others, the grief of students was raw and unmistakable. Their silence was heavy and unrelenting as they stood together, facing a memorial that never should have existed.

WATCH BELOW: FSU students in 'disbelief' as memorial grows for victims

FSU students in 'disbelief' as memorial grows for victims

"I don't know how to put my thoughts into words right now. I'm sorry," FSU senior Catherine Beck said.

Beck and her friends are among dozens approaching a growing memorial in slow, solemn waves — a sea of color blossoming where unspeakable darkness fell.

"I'm just in disbelief," Beck said. "Obviously, everyone says you never think it will happen to you until it does."

"It truly felt like a nightmare that you think you're going to wake up from, and you're just not waking up because it's so surreal," senior Julia Kuhn said.

Kuhn was in the library when a gunman opened fire at the student union, sending students fleeing and putting the Tallahassee campus on lockdown.

"The girl across from me told me, 'There's a shooter — we need to run,'" Kuhn said. "And you could already see the fear in people's eyes as they sprinted up the stairwell, not knowing where the shooter was."

Kuhn's fear spilled through the phone Thursday as she texted her friends in a panic. Although they weren't on campus, when they saw Kuhn's message, their hearts sank — afraid they might be reading her last words.

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"I never thought that I'd have to actually be worried that I would lose someone," senior Gracie Garrison said while fighting back tears. "Just not being able to be there and get your friends out of that situation ... when she texted our group chat, it was just 'shooter.' I never thought that I would see that before."

Now, Garrison thinks about the people who never got the call that said their loved ones were safe.

Sophomore Evita Ilushenko knows this heartache could have been her own.

Ilushenko was just classrooms away — close enough to feel the fear and know how different her story could have ended.

"It was just really scary," sighed Ilushenko. "All these people were crying around me."

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Now, amid the silence, questions cut sharply.

"You want to know more. You want to know why the shooter did this," sophomore Paige Spodick said. "It's not gonna make it any better. ... You just want to know or try and understand."

As tearful students silently gaze upon the dozens of candles, flowers, trinkets, balloons and flags, they hold each other close.

"It's just really disheartening to watch this happen over and over and over again, and now it being on our own front line is like crazy," Beck said. "I'm so thankful that my friend and all of us are OK, and I know that there are other people out there who can't say the same thing."

Officials have also not identified the victims. However, family members have said that university employee Robert Morales was one of those who were killed. Also, attorneys identified the other victim as Tiru Chabba, 45, of Greenville, South Carolina.

Hospital officials said Friday they expect the six others who were shot to make a "full recovery."

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