TERRIFYING

Parkland 911 Call: ‘It’s Mom. Can You Play Dead? I Need You to Play Dead’

Transcripts released of student in touch with operator through mother while chaos ensued.

Officials in Florida released 911 calls Thursday from the Parkland shooting, shedding light on what was happening when Nikolas Cruz started firing inside Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. One 911 operator had contact with a student inside the building through a man and the student’s mother. The man told the student inside, who was crouched in a classroom with another student, to be quiet and to keep “hiding behind the curtain or something.” The man told the operator the student was hearing yelling in the hallway, and responded, “We don’t know–here’s a lot going on, just tell her to be quiet.” The operator added, “Let her know she’s doing good, just keep try to keep her calm. She’s doing good. All police, we got extra units from other places in other cities coming.” At one point, somebody had entered the room, and the mother interjected, saying “I love you! I love you! It’s Mom... Can you hide from there? Can you play dead? Can you play dead? I need you to play dead.” The police had entered the room, and were “escorting the students out of the classroom.” Before hanging up the phone, the man thanked the operator and said, “I hope this turns out to be not as bad.” The operator said, “Yes, I hope so, too.”