Aidan Minoff Kept World Informed Of Florida School Shooting On Twitter — As It Unfolded
Students react following a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. Image by MICHELE EVE SANDBERG/AFP/Getty Images
By Aiden Pink February 15, 2018
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida was on lockdown during the school shooting on Wednesday that left 17 people dead and many more wounded. But the outside world was able to learn what was happening in real time because of the Twitter posts of freshman Aidan Minoff.
His tweets were shared thousands of times.
My school is being shot up and I am locked inside. I’m fucking scared right now. pic.twitter.com/mjiEmPvGNb
— Aidan Minoff (@TheCaptainAidan) February 14, 2018
Minoff told the Miami Herald that he was taking a math test when he heard a series of pops. “We thought maybe it was firecrackers,” he recounted. “Until we heard screaming and people, not falling, but crashing when they were barricading the door. We knew it wasn’t a joke anymore.”
Still locked in. I checked the local news and there is 20 victims. Long live Majory Stoneman Douglas High. pic.twitter.com/4kQMAlCBWt
— Aidan Minoff (@TheCaptainAidan) February 14, 2018
Students were herded to the far side of the room, away from the door, until a SWAT team busted in and evacuated them.
Afterwards, Minoff was interviewed by local and national news. The widespread visibility of his tweets led some to believe that he was part of a conspiracy theory.
Put on your tinfoil hats, boys and girls. pic.twitter.com/WEdHuSum4d
— Aidan Minoff (@TheCaptainAidan) February 15, 2018
This is not the first time Minoff showed off his journalistic chops: In elementary school, he started a website called the “Minoff Times” that provided updates about his family life.
Contact Aiden Pink at pink@forward.com or on Twitter, @aidenpink
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