With heads bowed and tear-filled sniffles, a small group from Cru, a Christian campus ministry at Florida Atlantic University, gathered on Monday to pray for those affected by the April 17 mass shooting that occurred on Florida State University’s campus, which killed two people and injured six. 

Sitting on the floor of FAU’s Student Union Grand Palm Room, they prayed and reflected on the tragedy. Zoey Clarke, the student organizer of the event and a junior majoring in marketing, spoke in front of the group, saying they have to “carry the burdens of the people at FSU and bring that to the feet of our Father.”  

“We’ve got to just take a moment to sit in it and to grieve on their behalf, plead on their behalf and pray on their behalf. I believe there’s a lot of power in prayer,” said Clarke. 

On April 17 at 12:02 p.m., an active shooter was reported at FSU’s Student Union. Phoenix Ikner has been identified as the alleged shooter, and took the lives of two individuals and left six hospitalized. The victims have been identified as Robert Morales, an FSU employee, and Tiru Chabba, a father who was at FSU on a work visit. 

For some FSU students, the mass panic took them back seven years ago when they experienced a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla. that took 17 lives. 

The “FSU Prayer Night” gave everyone the space to share their thoughts and feelings about the shooting at FSU. They vocalized their concerns and sent prayers not only to the FSU community but to the families and other organizations that were impacted.  

One individual shared that her friend was in the building across from the Student Union. One of the people who was there with the friend was a man who experienced the Stoneman Douglas shooting. The woman at Cru prayed for the man, even though she doesn’t know him, because he’s now had to experience a shooting twice in his life. 

Avarielle Muniz, a freshman majoring in International Business, shared that her two best friends attend FSU. A member of her friend group unfortunately passed away earlier last year. When the news came out about FSU, fear struck her, and the thought that she could have had to go home for another funeral was “heartbreaking.” 

“It’s just a blessing to be able to sit here, even just stand here and have the freedom and the space to feel completely safe in what we’re doing, in the situations, and be so focused in a conversation that we don’t have to worry about our safety. It’s a blessing,” said Muniz. 

Cru’s Campus Director at FAU, Johnathan Kreh, shared a personal connection with the FSU community as his twin sister attended the school. He also has FSU friends who do ministry work similar to his. They sent him updates throughout the shooting, indicating that they were safe, but asked for prayers throughout the ongoing situation. 

“Personal connections aside, it’s another Florida state school. It’s a brother campus in this larger Florida system. There’s just the reality that in this world there’s a lot of brokenness, a lot of chaos,” said Kreh. 

College students have a picture of their lives and the years ahead of them, but Kreh shared that there’s a “sad reality” that it won’t be true for everyone. 

“That’s why we’re passionate about what we do, that we bring that good news of Jesus to everybody, that God loves them…By placing your faith in him, you can have that eternal life. Then, even when things like this strike, you can face death with a new confidence,” said Kreh. 

Clarke expressed her passion through her dedication to setting up the Cru prayer night. As the president of the American Marketing Association at FAU, she understood that a two-week notice was required to get a room reserved. 

“I saw this as a leap of faith doing it,” Clarke said. She emailed all of the Deans at FAU, asking for a room to use, and just one response was all she needed. One Dean shared Clarke’s email with the Director at the Student Union, Chris Lynch, who called Clarke on Saturday and provided the space for the prayer. 

Kreh described Clarke as a “go-getter type leader.” She had the idea to do it and felt passionately that people needed to gather to pray for FSU, so she sprang into action. 

“Getting to just love them meant doing an event like this, organizing something to support them and know that we’re uplifting them and thinking of them during this time,” said Clarke. “I know it’s not something normal…that people would do.”

Megan Bruinsma is the Sports Editor for the University Press. For more information regarding this or other stories, email her at mbruinsma2022@fau.edu or DM her on Instagram @megan_bruinsma or Twitter @MeganBruinsma.