DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — When word came of a shooter in the loose on the CDC and Emory University campuses, fear set in for the parents of more than 90 kids who were at a day care on the CDC campus.
Channel 2’s Michael Seiden was there as parents were reunited with their child and praised the teachers who sent them photos and texted updates during the chaos.
“I think right now, people are in shock and just want to get their kids,” mother Abby Tighe said.
Emotions were running high as parents anxiously waited to reunite with their children who attend the Clifton School, a daycare on Clifton Road, where 92 kids and staff members were forced to shelter in place for hours as the active shooting situation unfolded.
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Tighe said she was preparing to pick up her 1-year-old son when she got the emergency alert on her phone.
“We ended up calling the school just to see if they were locked down. And that was about 5:05. And they had locked down at that point,” Tighe said.
The former CDC employee said police officers flooded the area and shut down the roads, which made it impossible for her to get to her child.
But Tighe said the staff inside remained calm and provided updates through texts and calls.
“The Clifton school is excellent. The teachers there are great. They’ve been really communicative, and it’s good. We’re glad to have our son with people who, like, know him and care about him,” Tighe said.
The updates kept coming until around 10 p.m. That’s when the bus pulled in and the kids were back in their parents’ arms.
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