SANTA FE, Texas - What did classmates know about the suspected shooter? KHOU 11 News is sharing these accounts not to glorify the shooter, but so everyone can understand what happened.
"They were so close, it could have been outside, it could have been inside," said Payton Bailey, a sophomore at Santa Fe High School.
She arrived at school, just before the fire alarm rings.
"Twenty to 50 feet in front of me, I heard boom, boom, boom," Bailey said.
She got out her cellphone, called her mom and ran.
"You knew something bad was happening. You could hear the chaos. I could hear the chaos in the back," said Misty Bailey, her mother.
By the time she made it safely home and realized who the suspected shooter was, Payton Bailey started to put the pieces together.
"Yeah, like at lunch when I see him in the hallways, I never see him walk with his friends," Bailey said.
She describes him as a quiet guy and says most memorable is the trench coat he wore all school year. It's the same one she tells us is pictured on his Facebook page.
"He always wore this black trench coat, and it had some type of flag. I'm not sure what kind it was and a little medal right here," she said.
Bailey also realizes her close friend is in the art class he may have targeted. and the friend survived.
"Zach was trying to get everybody out and everybody was hiding under desks. and he was like, 'No, y'all have to get out, y'all have to get out," she said.
An emotional roller coaster for this mom and daughter, thankful to now be in the safety of their home.
"I just pray for the families who have lost their babies today and the emotions these other kids are dealing with," her mom said.
That friend who was in the art class had two students right next to him who were shot. They're expected to survive.