Students and parents shared details on Thursday morning about their experiences from yesterday, when former student Nikolas Cruz open fired at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida killing 17 people.

Senior student Zachary Walls talked about how he and a friend, Colton Haab, sprang into action to try to keep everyone as safe as possible by using Kevlar from their JROTC programme.

“We took all the Kevlar and piled it in front of the kids and made a big wall to where you couldn’t even walk past the Kevlar let alone shoot through it, and me and my friend Colton made a cover with tables and just sat there ready to do what we had to do if he came in the room,” Walls said.

Another student, sophomore Kenya Warner, said she knew some of the victims. “I know a girl that was shot. She was shot in the leg and she went into surgery and another one of my classmates died, and it’s just surreal what’s happening,” Warner said.