NEW YORK CITY (WHNT) — A mass shooting in New York City on Monday sent shockwaves throughout the country, and some of that shock went to the parents of Alabama high schoolers.
Snapshots show State Representative Phillip Ensler and a group of Alabama high school students on what has always been a fun and meaningful trip to the big city. While they were in the stands of Yankee Stadium, alerts on their phone changed the tone to something they never expected.
“Around 5:30, we left to go to Yankee Stadium to go to the baseball game,” Ensler said. “When we were up there, just about an hour later, a little over an hour, that’s when the news started to break that there was a shooting.”
New York Police report that five people were shot, four fatally, when a man opened fire in a Manhattan office building Monday evening. Police said the suspect, Shane Tamura, shot and killed himself.
The mass shooting and chaos that erupted in the heart of Manhattan unfolded just two blocks away from the hotel where the group is staying.
“Literally two blocks from our hotel,” Ensler said. “We’re staying on 52nd Street and 3rd Avenue. The shooting was on Park Avenue and 52nd.”
Ensler has been taking high school students on trips aimed at exposing them to cultures and experiences outside of Alabama for over a decade. He said nothing could have prepared them for Monday’s tragedy.
“Sometimes there’s a misperception that New York is really dangerous and it’s unsafe. These kinds of shootings and tragedies happen all over the country,” the representative said. “You know, of course, we want our students to be exposed to just positive things, but also, this is a reality of life.”
Ensler noted the students’ resilience — they continue to immerse themselves fully in the city, and refuse to be controlled by fear. He said he also used this as an opportunity to remind the young group of how fragile life truly is.
“Tell your parents, tell people you love them. Tell them you appreciate them,” he said. “And I didn’t want to be too dramatic and emotional, but really, at the end of the day, you just never know when and where something horrible can happen.”
Ensler said the group will continue doing all of the planned activities and return to Alabama on Thursday.
The investigation into the shooting is still in early phases, and updates are being provided daily. News 19 will continue updating on-air and online as more information becomes available.
The post Only on News 19: Alabama high school students on NYC trip during mass shooting appeared first on WHNT.
