Roseburg, Ore — A day after the shootings at Umpqua Community College the shock is starting to wear off, but the pain for many is far from over.
19-year-old Courtney Case was late for class, parking her car between the library and Snyder hall where the shooting began when she got the call from a friend to leave, now.
Case was lucky, but her friend, whose name she asked to keep private, was still inside the classroom, face to face with the gunman.
“All she said was I want to go home, I want to shower, I have blood on me and it’s not mine.
And that’s when my heart broke,” said Case.
Courtney Case says she has a family on the campus of Umpqua Community College, a family that was nearly destroyed when a gunman stormed Snyder hall.
“When you hear the names of some of the people that got hurt, or killed you know them,” said Case.
Case’s friend and volleyball teammate was in the classroom where the gunman began his rampage.
“She said he shot the woman right next to me, and I was the next one and he told me to get up but I played dead, I was in shock I couldn’t get up she said finally she heard gunshots, and someone said he’s dead and she got up and ran out of the classroom,” said Case.
She survived, reuniting with her team, her family, just moments later.
“I was there when she saw her dad for the first time and the hug they shared,
something I don’t want my dad to ever have to do,” said Case.
Case herself was lucky, late for class when she received the call.
“She told me to turn around and go home because there was a shooting, at first, I didn’t think she’d joke about it but it’s not something you would think would happen in Roseburg,” said Case.
Their reunion showed Case something she had always known about her teammate, but had never seen until that day.
“If we need to talk she’s there for us, if we’re having a hard time getting over it she’s there to listen to us, and she’s the one that witnessed it,” said Case.
A strength they’ll all need to overcome as a family.
“She’s the strongest person I know,” said Case.
Case says her teammate and friend is home tonight recovering with family but they have been in constant contact since yesterday’s events.
© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.