KIRKERSVILLE: 'I gotta keep people safe' said worker  during deadly shooting

Sarah Sims, 23, had just finished working a 12-hour overnight shift at Pine Kirk in Kirkersville, Ohio, and was in the basement with five co-workers and five residents when they heard loud bangs. Sims said since some residents have behavioral issues, she thought someone was throwing a chair. But a new co-worker quickly returned to the basement, telling them someone was shooting upstairs.

>>LATEST INFORMATION ON THE DEADLY KIRKERSVILLE SHOOTING

>>PHOTOS FROM THE SCENE

Sims and her co-workers acted quickly: barricading the basement door and calling 911. Sims, who started working at Pine Kirk as a high school junior six years ago, said she thought "I just gotta keep people in this room safe and keep this door closed."

Sims stayed on the line with county dispatch for 32 minutes, getting advised to say quiet and calm.

>>3 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT KIRKERSVILLE

After the scene was cleared, Sims and others were taken to a church across the street to be interviewed by investigators. She is still uncertain who of her co-workers were killed. "I don't know who it could be or anything."

Sims said she is shaky and in shock now but she expects she'll return to work a place where she said she has grown into an adult and where she is close to residents and workers. "It's like family."

0
Comments on this article