Nearly two years ago, TikToker Shay (@shaythethey) experienced a mass shooting at their apartment building. So, Shay was friendly with a guy in her building, and they both lived on the same floor, so they would often run into each other while waiting for the elevator.
One weekend, Shay noticed that the neighbor seemed to be having some kind of mental breakdown. At the elevators, Shay saw him staring at the closed doors.
He didn’t make any move to press the button. He was also dressed differently from the way he normally dressed.
Shay was on the phone with a relative when they approached him and addressed him like they usually did. He got in the elevator with Shay, and it took them down to street level.
They went outside, and Shay was still on the phone when the neighbor suddenly ran into the street, screaming his head off. Luckily, there wasn’t any traffic at the time, but he was still at risk of getting hit by a car.
Later that night, Shay returned home and saw the neighbor staring at the elevators again. Shay didn’t know what was going on with him, but at that point, they started thinking that he could be a danger.
Shay went to bed, and the next day, there was a knock at the door. When Shay answered the door, they were greeted by the police. A detective asked if they had heard anything unusual at around 5 a.m.
“I come to find out later that my neighbor had gone and broken into another neighbor’s place, acquired a weapon from their own place of residence, went downstairs, and had a shootout with the police, killed officers, shot multiple, was also killed in the process,” said Shay.
“I found out some of my neighbors had accidentally viewed the body walking to that level or taking the elevator there without knowing what had occurred.”
Sign up for Chip Chick’s newsletter and get stories like this delivered to your inbox.
“I found out that he had been reported to law enforcement multiple times that weekend by different residents for other abnormal behaviors I had no clue about.”
Overall, the experience was traumatic and unexpected. Shay lost a friend in a tragic way. They now want to raise more awareness of gun violence and the need for stricter gun control laws nationwide.
In the comments section, many TikTok users expressed their sympathies over the situation.
“This is so heavy. I’m glad you weren’t harmed, but I’m so sorry, it’s so much to process. I wish mental health was taken more seriously in our country because it impacts us all,” commented one user.
“I am so sorry you went through this. The gun violence in this country is so traumatizing. Even just living here because of it is very traumatizing. I hope you are taking care of yourself. I know firsthand how hard this can be,” wrote another.
“You never really know what a person’s going through. I love that you were there to support him in some capacity,” added a third.
By Emily Chan
Emily Chan is a writer who covers lifestyle and news content. She graduated from Michigan State University with a degree in... More about Emily Chan
