PARKLAND, Fla. – A South Florida woman thought she had survived the most devastating event of her family's history during last year's shooting at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
But on Wednesday, Annika Dean's worst fears were realized when her son was at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School when suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz killed 17 people.
Dean's son, Austin, a 14-year-old freshman, originally texted his mother that there was an active shooter drill going on, but later texted back that it was not a drill.
Austin was outside when he heard gunfire and ran back into the school for shelter and wrote his mother that he was secure.
"He alternated between telling me he was scared and telling me 'It's okay, we're safe and don't worry, Mom. But I love you just in case!'" Dean said of her son's texts.
The Dean's, who live a mile away from school, embraced after the students were released, with Annika saying Austin was embarrassed over his mother clinging to him after reuniting.
Austin knew many of the students who were killed, some he had attended school with since the seventh grade.
For Annika, Wednesday's shootings were a stark reminder of what she went through on Jan. 7, 2017. Dean was at FLL when suspected gunman Esteban Santiago-Ruiz opened fire inside the baggage claim area at Terminal 2, killing five people and injuring six others.
Last year, Dean shared with Local 10 that she was able to survive the shooting with help from a stranger who had shielded her body.
"I just consider him to be a guardian angel," she said in 2017. "To be a real hero."
As a teacher, Dean has training on dealing with threatening events, but even with her experience at the airport, she was not stunned when she first heard that Austin was in the middle of a shooting.
"I was pretty calm in the airport because of the training I received," said Annika. "But when my son was texting me and I was reading this texts, I had to be calm for him... ...but inside, I felt helpless."
"I knew what he feeling and I was just frightened for him."
When asked what was the tougher experience to deal with, Dean said Wednesday was far worse than the airport.
"Being in a room with a man who's shooting is hard," remarked Dean. "But having this hit my community... ...for us, this has been much more traumatic than the airport. It's our community."
Dean says Austin is "hurting," as is she and that her and her family will be in mourning for a long time.