11:20 a.m.
An officer had Anna sitting in an open seat near the entrance of the building. The entire atrium was frantic with commotion but she just sat and stared at her palms open in her lap. Thinking about last night, Anna remembered Nathan's hands squeezing her own and pleading with her, begging her not to leave. But the last time he touched her – the last time she would ever let him touch her again – was when he slapped Anna hard across the face. Just a taste of the temper that convinced her they were over. Anna promised herself that she needed better than him in her life.
But now it seemed more and more likely that her firm rejection led him to this, to be willing to kill innocent people. Maybe if she'd done something differently…
The new flashing of lights caught Anna's attention and brought her back out of her pointless reverie. Seven officers dressed in more military looking gear climbed out of three black SUVs, took several large bags out of their cars, and started walking toward the building where Anna sat.
"Stay right here, Anna." The officer by her said before walking outside to meet the new arrivals.
The police officer reached the group and then gestured in Anna's direction as they all walked hurriedly towards the entrance. It looked like she would get to explain again how she didn't know what was happening or how any of this was possible.
An officer with a round face and a black baseball hat walked straight to where she sat and held out a hand for her to shake.
"Anna Severson? Hi, my name is Sargent Greg Parker. We heard that your boyfriend has a weapon and is holding a group of students in a classroom. Is this right?"
Anna's voice broke, "y-yes, that's right. That's what I was told by my friend anyways, she was still in the lecture hall when he went in, but was able to leave without him noticing. His name is Nathan Billings. I'd just left for a minute to print my notes. Oh my god, if I'd still been in there…" she trailed off and looked down.
Sargent Parker crouched down and looked up at her. "Listen, Anna, we're going to make sure that you're safe, ok? We just need to know what's going on. Did anything happen between the two of you? Can you think of why he would want to do this?"
"Yes." Anna's voice sounded breathless. "I broke up with him last night. My friend, Emily has been begging me to for weeks and I finally did it. Nathan can have a temper; I couldn't handle it any more. But last night…"
"Anna, it's very important that we understand the whole situation here. Has Nathan ever been violent towards you? Has he ever hit you?" Sargent Parker asked.
She just nodded. "And his parents were killed in a car crash last year. I was all he had left."
Sargent Parker stood back up and turned towards his team who were dispersed and speaking with other officers. "Alright team, the subject, Nathan, is Anna's ex-boyfriend. She broke up with him last night. The subject has a history of violence against her, it looks like this time he escalated to using a firearm."