Reported by Dave D’Marko
ORLANDO -- There were hugs and tears as Reynolds, Smith & Hills employees reunited for the first time since a deadly shooting spree that took place in their office building Friday.
For the first time, employees talked about what they saw and heard and the confusion when the gunfire started.
"What could these be, balloons popping, bookshelves falling over. They are getting closer and closer and you see people fleeing out the building and you know something is wrong," said Mark Davidson, RS&H Vice President.
Davidson ran for the exit and then stopped until he saw the gunman.
"Once the shooter came into vision, (I) hightailed it to the exit and went down the stairwell," Davidson said.
Davidson said he didn't see any of the six people get shot, but many of his co-workers did.
Office workers pulled the wounded to safety. Now, like soldiers coming home from war, there are concerns they could suffer post-traumatic stress disorder.
"You knew that as a company we are victims of a senseless crime,” Davidson said. “How do you deal with that from that point on?"
"What I say to the people who were in the building is you lived through a critical experience and it's important to talk about it,” said crisis manager Dwight Bain. “Do something, take positive action now, don't go through a crisis alone."
Grief counselors from the church and police department were on hand Monday. The Orange County Sheriff’s Office also put together a crisis recovery team led by Bain.
Bain led a similar effort in New York City in the days after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Counselors hope Monday's conversations are the first step in a return to normalcy that could include them returning to the deadly scene sometime this week.
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