Columbine survivor living in Cary shares her story after Florida school shooting

CARY, North Carolina -- Kacey Johnson moved to Cary about six months ago after growing up in Colorado.

She was a junior at Columbine High School in 1999, when two teens opened fire on the school, changing her whole life and the lives of many.

"I mean I nearly died and saw things no 17-year-old should ever see," Johnson told WGHP. "It was the one time that year I stayed for lunch and when the shooting began I hid under a table and started praying and just moments later the shooter was right behind me and shot me close range - my shoulder, hand, and across my neck."

Johnson said she remembered staying very still, praying she'd live.

"I pretended to be dead, hoping he'd move on, and he did."

Stay on top of breaking news stories with the ABC11 News App

After surviving, she said the community support was overwhelming. She was inspired to become a nurse.

"I wanted to be able to have that same impact on somebody else's life," she said.

And now she wants to impact lives in a different way. When a gunman opened fire in a Parkland Florida High School Wednesday, she had to reach out.

"I so badly want to be there with the people experiencing it because there's only a small few of us who really know," Johnson explained.