SPOKANE, Wash. — For the first time, Freeman students share what they witnessed on the second floor of the school when Caleb Sharpe opened fire on his classmates four years ago.
Many still live with the trauma of the shooting. Despite the challenges they’ve faced since then, several students bravely told the judge what they saw that day.
One Freeman student remembered talking to Sam Strahan about a math assignment that morning. Shortly after this conversation, she said she heard gunshots. When she and her friends looked up, they saw Sam talking to Sharpe briefly before Sharpe shot and killed him.
“That image is one I still suffer from extreme nightmares to this day," the former Freeman High school student said. "Caleb turned toward the three of us, with the gun still in his hand, and pointed it at us. But continued to turn without firing.”
That student told the judge she will carry the images, smells, and noises of that day with her for the rest of her life.
A victim’s advocate read another student’s statement about when they saw the shooter with a rifle.
“I heard gunshots as well as one of my classmates screaming in horror," they wrote. "I ran down the stairs and out the door. As I ran, I was not sure if he was behind me. I was just waiting to be shot as I ran."
Another student described the look on the shooter’s face before realizing Emma Nees was shot. Emma was one of the three girls injured that day.
“I had made eye contact with him after the first shot was fired into the crowd from his handgun," the student said. "And it was a look of evil. A look that said he knew the harm these shots were causing and didn't care. I saw him point my direction and blink as he pulled the trigger. And in front of me was Emma Nees.”
These brave students told the judge the nightmare of that day will live with them forever. But they are hopeful the judge will consider the maximum sentence for Sharpe. That way they will get justice and a chance to find some closure.