Hundreds of shaken Great Mills students were bussed to Leonardtown High School to reunite with their terrified parents.
There was lots of hugs, tears and relief in the cold rain as worried parents rushed to pick up their teens.
Hannah Carlon, 17, said she's never been so glad to see her dad.
"I just hope everyone else is OK," she said.
Carlon said it took a minute to realize what has happened at far too many schools had now hit hers.
"One of my friends just burst into the classroom saying that he had heard a gunshot," she said. "A few seconds later, the principal calls for a lockdown, we all hid as soon as possible. That's when it became real."
It's just a fifteen minute drive from Great Mills to Leonardtown. But for many parents, it was a very long 15 minutes. Maria Ruiz has twin 15 year olds at Great Mills.
"They are OK, thank god, but she is very scared, and she wants me to pick her up," she said.
It's the kind of terror no child should have to feel.
"I heard a shot when I was in the bathroom," said Jaiton Brown, 16. "I really didn't know what it was. I thought it was a fight, because everyone was crowded around. But then teachers, and everyone started running around and saying, get in the classroom."
Parents are left helpless, only able to offer love to ease their fears.
"Give her a big hug and a kiss?," WUSA9 Bruce Leshan asked Jaiton's mother, Tawana Jackson. "Yes!" she replied, between tears and laughter.
