During the Georgia school shooting at Apalachee High School, a wounded teacher bravely shut the door to his classroom saving his students' lives.
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Speaking with CNN, sophomore Hazel Biondi said she was in geometry class when the shooting happened. She said the entire class heard loud banging outside. Her teacher, David Phenix, opened the door to see what the sound was.
That's when 14-year-old Colt Gray allegedly shot him.
"The whole class ran to the back of the classroom and that's when we realized that my teacher got shot, and then my other teacher tried to stop the bleeding," Hazel told CNN. "She was grabbing rags to stop the bleeding."
Bravely, Phenix shut the door to the classroom despite being wounded. He then fell to the ground. "And then we heard more banging and we thought (the shooter) was going to come back, so we turned off all the lights and got quiet," she said.
Teacher Saved Students
According to the student, the class sat in the classroom during the shooting. They did their best to help their teacher. "He was still responding, and my other teacher kept asking him to talk, so we knew he was still alive," she said.
After the shooting ended, the class had to exit the room. It was made difficult because their teacher was still lying in front of the door. "We had to walk by his blood, and that's a sight we did not want to see," she said.
Biondi's mother praised the teacher for saving her daughter's life. "If Mr. Phenix did not shut that door ..." she said. "He saved my baby. He saved my world."
Fortunately, the teacher ended up surviving his injuries.
"We are so thankful for all the texts, calls, and messages about my dad, David Phenix. There was a shooting this morning at Apalachee High School and my dad was shot in the foot and in the hip, shattering his hip bone," his daughter Katie wrote in a Facebook update.
"He arrived to the hospital alert and awake. He just got out of surgery and is stable. We will update as we hear new information. We are so, so lucky, but please keep our family as well as the AHS family in your prayers."
