Georgia high school students recount a "harrowing moment" after an unknown suspect opened fire and fired shots into their campus building.

Sophomore Cameron Leroy was attending Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia when an unfamiliar noise began pulsing through the hallway around 10 am on Wednesday morning. To ward off further disruptions from occurring in class, Cameron’s teacher instructed students crouch down in corners. Leroy locked the lights, shut and latched his door and used an expensive touchscreen board as a barricade at the entrance, keeping everyone from leaving while they hunkered down in fear. For 30 terrifying minutes they lay motionless behind this barrier until emergency sirens began sounding along with shouts from police officers to protect them. “It was such an eye-opener,” Leroy, 15, described the Georgia school shooting on NBC News Now. Even once home, he reported still feeling “in a state of shock”. But chaos ensued when Leroy learned one of those killed was Richard Aspinwall, his geometry teacher and assistant football coach. Joshua L. Jones/USA Today Network He never imagined his active shooter training would ever come into play in real-life scenarios, saying it never crossed his mind that an active shooter attack might occur at his school or elsewhere in his town. “Even when it happened, we were prepared for whatever may arise; but you never expect such events in a typical school day,” stated Mr. Dolan. “You think about going to class for seven hours each day, learning new subjects before returning home with family at nighttime.” “Law enforcement officials reported receiving calls about an active shooter around 10:20 am at Apalachee High School in a rural town with approximately 19,000 inhabitants located between Atlanta and Athens. Parents were advised to avoid the school until a secure zone could be created at the scene of this shooting, according to 15-year old student Isaiah Hooks who claims he was present when it took place in science class with about 20 students present when it took place. He heard screaming and his class moved quickly towards an area connected with another classroom where they could shelter in place. Later he would discover one of the victims was one of his classmates while Aspinwall served as his defensive coach on their school football team. Hooks acknowledged Thursday, “Some of us are still very shaken up from all this.” Jaden Hunter, 17, recalls sitting on his computer during engineering class when alerts displayed indicating lockdown – loud screaming could be heard coming down the hallway from time to time. Hunter initially wasn’t sure whether it was an intentional drill; his teacher instructed the class to “go hide and find somewhere safe. His classmates took out their phones to text each other – one friend closer to the shooting wrote him with information: ‘There was blood everywhere.” At a news conference on Wednesday, Barrow County Sheriff Jud Smith revealed that teachers at Apalachee School for the past week have had access to new technology that enables them to press a button on their ID cards in order to alert law enforcement of possible active shooter situations. Smith reported this was implemented. Following the shooting, Northeast Georgia Health System provided treatment not only to physical injuries but also multiple people suffering symptoms of panic attacks and anxiety attacks. School was cancelled for the rest of the week while grief counselors made themselves available; Ariel Bowling was about to leave her classroom to visit a vending machine when gunshots started firing nearby. Bowling said she panicked upon returning inside and called her mother immediately for advice; when her daughter insisted an active shooter existed, Tabitha Bowling advised that her daughter take cover behind a corner until given instructions from an adult figure. Tabitha Bowling recounted her story and that of her daughter to NBC’s TODAY show Thursday and said, “At that time I heard five gunshots before hearing silence on the line and then my phone went dead.” She further expressed that they were both extremely scared during their experience. “I felt very vulnerable.” After receiving an all-clear signal, Ariel Bowling fled her classroom and passed by two bodies covered with sheets and someone suffering a gunshot wound to their leg. Fractious parents could quickly reconnect with their children on the school football field. A day after being traumatized in class by gunfire, she told her mom she does not feel confident returning. Some students at Apalachee have voiced the need for additional security measures. “You’re basically never safe anywhere,” Bowling said, adding, “even with cops present there’s still no safety whatsoever. Curtis Bunn reported from Winder while Erik Ortiz provided coverage from New York.