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16th February 2018
09:46am GMT
An Irish teenager who recently relocated to Florida from Clontarf just a few months with her family was caught up in Wednesday's mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland.
Adelina Hurley (16) escaped unharmed from the shooting incident, in which 17 students and staff were killed by an ex-student.
Speaking to RTÉ’s Morning Ireland, Adelina's mother described the fear she felt when first hearing that her daughter's school was at the centre of a shooting attack.
“It was a normal day. I’d been to visit my parents and on the way back I decided to stop by the school because my daughter was finishing at that time.
"Within a few seconds, police cars appeared from all directions… I knew something was happening. I phoned my daughter, and she didn’t answer. I text her to see if she’d get back and she eventually did. She phoned me and just said she was running.
“Everyone just assumed it was a normal fire drill but then the teacher started to look worried."
Olga said that she told her daughter to keep running.
She said: “You don’t know what happened to her if you don’t hear her voice. Because I heard her voice, I had the hope I would see her.
That feeling of horror only sinks in in your head later. This could be us. All those people. I can’t describe how I felt. It was only maybe 30-40 minutes, but it felt three or four hours. I was scared. She was scared.
The family was eventually reunited, safe and sound. “It’s a gift, a blessing,” Olga said.
A classmate of Adelina's has been confirmed as one of the victims.
19-year-old Nikolas Cruz has been charged with 17 counts of murder.
Header image: Candlelit Vigil to remember the 17 victims/Broward County Sherrif
