Florida State student shot returns to Miramar

Elijah Velez first of 3 students shot outside FSU library

MIRAMAR, Fla. – Elijah Velez was one of the first targeted and shot outside the main library on the campus of Florida State University.

The Miramar freshman said he had just left the library after working on an English assignment. He said he got to his bicycle when he encountered the gunman early Thursday morning.

"I walked outside of the library and then I saw him there, and he, like, walked up to me and started shooting," Velez told Local 10 News.

Velez said he started to run and was shot a second time. The bullet grazed his side and he went back to his dormitory to look for help.

Meanwhile, students either scattered or remained inside the Robert Manning Stozier Library while FSU alumnus Myron May continued his shooting spree, shooting two others before police shot him.

Velez said he didn't realize he'd been shot until he returned to his dorm room.

His mother in Miramar got the phone call from police first and spoke to her son immediately afterward.

"He was very frightened," Maria Moya said. "I could tell in his voice he was frightened. I just wanted to get to my son. That's all I could think of is, 'I need to get Elijah.'"

Velez is back in Miramar for the Thanksgiving holiday, but he said he is not afraid to go back to school.

Local 10 asked him his thoughts on the shooter, whom police said heard voices and was paranoid of the government. Velez said he hopes the man is at peace.

"I don't have any resentment or anything," Velez said. "He had his own problems to deal with and I can't be mad at him for anything."

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About the Author:

Andrew Perez is a South Florida native who joined the Local 10 News team in May 2014.