Additional Coverage:
Tallahassee, FL – In an exclusive interview with ABC News, Florida State University graduate student Madison Askins recounted the terrifying moments she was shot near the student union and forced to play dead while the gunman reloaded.
Askins, 23, was walking with a friend when they heard gunshots and immediately began to run. Tragically, Askins fell.
While her friend attempted to help her up, Askins was shot. Her friend, in a move Askins understood as necessary, ran for safety.
Lying wounded, Askins drew on advice from active shooter drills and focused on playing dead. “I released all the muscles in my body, closed my eyes and held my breath,” she told ABC News. She described taking short breaths when necessary, fighting to remain calm.
Believing the gunman had left, Askins prepared to reach for her phone to send final messages to her family. “I wanted to call my dad, tell him I loved him,” she said, her voice thick with emotion.
But her ordeal wasn’t over. Askins then heard the gunman returning, reloading his weapon.
He calmly said, “Keep running,” a chilling command she credits with saving her life. “I know for certain if I was moving he would’ve shot me again,” she stated.
Askins remained motionless until an officer reached her, providing first aid and reassurance. Relief washed over her when officers confirmed the gunman’s apprehension.
Two people were killed and six others wounded in the shooting. All the injured, including Askins, are expected to survive.
Askins, who has a bullet lodged in her vertebrae, will undergo surgery to remove it. Despite the trauma, she remains determined to continue her studies and pursue her internship.
“I’m not gonna let it tear me down,” she declared defiantly. “No, he doesn’t get that.”
The suspected gunman, identified as 20-year-old FSU student Phoenix Ikner, was shot by officers and is expected to survive. Authorities are still investigating the motive behind the shooting.