On a broken ankle, fleeing for his life, a survivor of the Parkland school shooting provided a chilling testimony in court on Wednesday about being singled out by the assailant, Nikolas Cruz.
During the trial sentencing of Cruz, Laman Kyle recalled the tragedy when the first gunshots went off in a crowded hallway in February 2018.
While students scattered in various directions, Laman mentioned that he stood still and suddenly experienced a searing feeling in his foot.
“I glance downwards and observe that my ankle has been completely shattered into fragments,” he stated. “Completely obliterated.”
Laman said he and two friends frantically tried to devise an escape plan as earsplitting shots and screams echoed in the hallway.
“We’re going to perish,” Laman said he informed his friend.
Laman then glanced around a corner and witnessed Cruz firing bullets into a classroom.
His companion, Joaquin Oliver, faced difficulties in seeking shelter in a restroom when it was inaccessible. He was subsequently deceased.
Noticing that Cruz was still shooting into the room, Laman observed his opportunity to escape.
“I was sprinting, he focused on me, commenced firing at me,” uttered he. “In addition to the corpses on the ground. During that moment, I was the sole individual present in the corridor apart from the assailant.”
Laman mentioned that he remembered four shots hitting the walls near him while he was running.
Laman, who is currently studying to become an EMT, still experiences the effects of his ankle injury and has undergone four surgeries. Despite this, he managed to safely construct the exit and stairs for three flights, displaying remarkable skill and efficiency.
Laman shot a menacing stare at Cruz on his way out of court and made brief eye contact with his would-be killer.
Earlier, after seeing his former teacher Scott Beigel dead in a doorway, Veronica Steel, a student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, courageously entered the classroom where kids were fleeing.
In the courageous teacher’s classroom, Steel, who captured mobile phone footage of the mayhem, stated that she and fellow students hastily sought shelter when gunfire erupted in a corridor.
We noticed that the door was closed and we had a clear view of the door. We were shielding ourselves with our backpacks.
The classroom was partially open. Inside the classroom was our teacher, Beigel, and outside the classroom was his torso. His body was blocking the door, holding it open. It was very scary for us.
Cruz fatally shot Beigel while he held the door open for his students to enter.
Prosecutor Mike Satz presented Steel’s chilling video to the jurors, while only the audio was accessible to the court gallery.
A sound can be heard crying for assistance as students try to suppress their sobs and murmurs while crouching down.
At one point, Steel recognized Beigel’s body in the video.
The children can be heard screaming on the video as they were repeatedly ushered out of the room by the police, with one voice crying out “Oh my God! Oh my God!”
In the courtroom, Cruz covered his ears with his thumbs as the video played.
Amidst the chaos, Anthony Borges, a fellow student, recounted that he phoned his father to bid farewell subsequent to being shot in the leg by Cruz in a corridor.
At the request of Satz, he presented the court with gunshot injuries to his posterior, lower extremity, and underarm. He was hit on five occasions but miraculously managed to survive after undergoing 14 surgical procedures.
After witnessing the lifeless body of Guttenberg Jaime, a student, Ernest Teacher recalled seeing Rospierski holding open a door in the hallway, allowing kids to escape.
Fred Guttenberg, the father of Guttenberg, has become a vocal advocate of gun control following the tragic loss of his daughter.