Donna Whitten
Valparaiso, Indiana
My family and I were in the Fort Lauderdale airport at the time of a shooting in January 2017. A lone shooter killed five and injured others in the baggage area of Terminal 2. Five of my family were in Terminal 1 and one was in Terminal 3. None of us heard nor saw anything; we learned of the tragedy on the television around 1:00 p.m. All was quiet, but we were nervous, waiting to see what would happen next.
Around 1:30, the airport announced that all services were suspended, and people picked up their phones to make other arrangements. My daughter and I were together, but the others were by themselves. Around 2:00 p.m., everything changed. Security personnel came running in, ordering everyone to “Get down!” The noise was deafening—shouts, screaming, stomping feet, and other loud noises. We did as we were told and dropped to the floor. A few moments later, we were ordered to get out of the building, and everyone rushed to the doors.
My daughter and I were still together. We waited frantically to find the others in our party and to hear from the family member in Terminal 3. We were not all reunited until eight or nine hours later, but within an hour or so, I knew all were safe.
Sirens and emergency vehicles were everywhere, and there were lots of people just standing around. We had only whatever we had on our person. Many had nothing—no identification, no phone, nothing. Some had no shoes, as they kicked them off when they ran. Some had minor injuries from the evacuation. Others suffered panic attacks or other health-related issues. Ambulances were treating some on the spot and transporting others.
In all the confusion and terror, I saw many kindnesses. One man gave a woman his socks because she had no shoes. A woman shared a small glass of water with me and others. We were allowed to use the restrooms in a security building. A young woman shared her phone and limited battery with my son so he could let us know he was safe.
After about five hours, we were allowed to leave the area, not knowing where we were going. A woman not associated with the evacuation drove her personal vehicle to the chaos and offered rides to tired people making their way to centralized meeting points. Security personnel were patient as they explained over and over where people should head.
In the end, we were delayed 2½ days, spent about $1,000 on hotels, clothing, toiletries, Uber rides, food, and a rental car to get some of us to the Orlando airport for flights home. But in the end, we were lucky. We were all healthy and grateful for the many kindnesses we witnessed amidst chaos and terror.
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In a time when some deranged people randomly kill and wound others,having even less regard for how they disrupt the lives of hundreds of people, some keep their sanity and honor their values by being kind and helping their neighbor, with whatever simple things they can do. They will be remembered long after the random shooter has been forgotten.
The kindness and generosity of people never fails to make me smile. Just when the only thing that seems to be an option is giving up, people show their goodness and generosity and make life worth living again.