Two of the survivors of the Florida high school shooting said Wednesday that returning to school will be challenging, but being reunited with their classmates will help them heal.
Stephanie Horowitz, a freshman at the school, said she attended grief counseling, but said she’s helped more by being near her friends. She said she lost five friends, including one of her closest friends.
“It definitely helped a little, but just being with my group of friends — well, we lost one of our members of our friend group — but just being with them has been the best therapy,” she told CNN.
Her older brother, Matthew Horowitz, is on the school’s hockey team. They won the state championship last weekend despite coming in as the underdog. He said that the game was a good “stress reliever” after everything that happened. He also lost friends at the shooting.
Students returned to school Wednesday to attend classes for the first time after the shooting. The scene at the school was chaotic with a massive police presence and members of the nearby communities coming together to support the students. Teachers returned to school for a briefing a few days ago to discuss how to proceed for the rest of the academic year.
Seventeen members of the community lost their lives on Feb. 14 when a gunman opened fire on the school. Three adults and 14 students died, and several others were injured. The suspected shooter, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, has been charged on 17 counts of premeditated murder and is being held without bond.
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