'I want to heal': Teen opens up about returning to school after massacre

Junior Samantha Grady was grazed by a bullet in the Feb. 14 shooting.

ByABC News
February 28, 2018, 1:35 PM

— -- A Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School student heading back to classes today after the Valentine's Day mass shooting says she thinks going back to the site of the tragedy can be "a healing process."

"We're supposed to be safe at school," said Samantha Grady, a junior who was grazed by a bullet during the massacre at the Parkland, Florida school. "No one should walk in a room, and as soon as you walk in, [wonder], 'Where's my escape route?'"

"No one should really have that fear," she told ABC News' "Nightline" recently.

"I want to heal. That's just my goal," Grady said. "And, I want to remember my high school experience. Yes, there was tragedy, but I want to overcome it."

PHOTO: Students attend a prayer service at Parkridge Church in Coral Springs, Fla., a day after a mass shooting occurred at the nearby Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Feb. 15, 2018.
Students attend a prayer service at Parkridge Church in Coral Springs, Fla., a day after a mass shooting occurred at the nearby Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, Feb. 15, 2018.
PHOTO: A message about grief counseling appears on the electronic signboard at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School one day after a shooting at the school left 17 dead in Parkland, Fla. Feb. 15, 2018.
A message about grief counseling appears on the electronic signboard at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School one day after a shooting at the school left 17 dead in Parkland, Fla. Feb. 15, 2018.

Grady said that although she is not formally a member of the #NeverAgain movement, she wants to see change.

"My hope is that background checks will be strengthened and more specific causes will be enacted, in those checks, so this incident never happens again," she said.

The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting and aftermath

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On Feb. 14, 2018, a former student at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., entered the school and opened fire with an AR-15 style rifle, killing 17 students and staff and injuring 17 more in one of the deadliest school attacks in U.S. history.<br><br>Here, the school is pictured from the air after reports of the shooting on Feb. 14, 2018.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images

    Grady, who spoke to "Nightline" on Tuesday as she braced for her return to school today, is also grieving for her best friend, Helena Ramsay, who was one of 17 people killed in the shooting.

    She said that while "it's normal" being at school, seeing other people with their close friends would likely remind her of that connection she lost. Grady said she spent much of her school day with Ramsay.

    "Going throughout my day without that, it's something that I have to get used to," she said. "It's better to start sooner than wait until all of this emotion is all pent up."

    Grady said that losing Ramsay had taught her to "appreciate the people who are here."

    "You don't want to have any regrets," she said.

    PHOTO: Candles that were placed on crosses still glow after last nights vigil for victims of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, at Pine Trail Park, Feb. 16, 2018, in Parkland, Fla.
    Candles that were placed on crosses still glow after last nights vigil for victims of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, at Pine Trail Park, Feb. 16, 2018, in Parkland, Fla.

    Grady also opened up to "Nightline" about seeing another slain classmate, Nicholas Dworet, on the ground after he was shot.

    After the shooter left, Grady said, "Nick was laying down next to me and someone told me to check his pulse."

    "I did, but I already assumed he was, unfortunately, he died," she said. "But I checked it anyway. After that I called 911."

    The police responded and she was escorted outside and told to run.

    "I've never run more fast," she said.