CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. – Parkland school shooting survivor Kyle Laman left a hospital Thursday. He wasn't alone.
Members of the Coral Springs Fire Department helped the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student get back home.
The 15-year-old boy underwent surgery last week at Broward Health North to reconstruct ligaments. He is still dealing with memories of the terror he felt when his classroom was locked and he was stuck in the hallway during the shooting.
The teacher couldn't get the door open fast enough. Everyone was running scared. Kyle looked at the gunman staring right back at him, and instinctively jumped for cover. The bullets were flying, and doctors told his mom one tore through his ankle and foot.
Nikolas Cruz confessed to using an AR-15-style semiautomatic rifle to kill 17 people -- including three of Kyle's friends. Aside from Kyle, Cruz also wounded 15 others. While he was sleeping in the hospital, Broward Sheriff's Office Deputy Brenda Louis was among the many who visited him.
Louis was in uniform and working at the hospital when she closed her eyes and prayed for him. The photograph of the moment in prayer went viral.
"When Kyle came out from surgery, I just felt it in my heart," Louis said while working at the hospital. "It was really heavy in me to pray for him."
Kyle's heroes took him home. Metal rods were still holding his right leg and foot, so they moved him carefully. The Sunrise Fire-Rescue Department shared the photos.
"Welcome home, Sunrise Fire Rescue Explorer Kyle Laman," the Facebook post read. "We are so glad you are on the mend."
While Kyle recovered from surgery, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School reopened Wednesday. The building where the shooting happened was closed and administrators plan to demolish it. There were dozens of grief counselors on campus.
Many of the survivors spent time lobbying for new gun laws and there has been some progress in the "Never Again" movement, which will be holding a nationwide demonstration March 24.
A Florida House committee voted Tuesday in favor of a bill to raise the minimum age to buy long guns to 21. Legislators also want to create a program to allow some teachers to carry concealed weapons in classrooms, but it will be up to the school districts to permit it.
Dick’s Sporting Goods stopped selling assault-style rifles and high-capacity magazines to customers younger than 21 years old. Walmart won't be selling firearms and ammunition to customers younger than 21.
