Oxford shooting survivor's narrow escape during attack haunts family

FOX 2 (WJBK) - At Friday's sentence for the Oxford High School shooter, 29 victims delivered impact statements before the court.

The shooter was sentenced to life in prison without parole by Judge Kwame Rowe after hearing heart-wrenching memories of the event which killed four students and wounded seven more, for hours.

Through it all, the connecting thread was what life is like now, two years since the tragedy.  Many said they are in survival mode and have experienced different levels of PTSD.

"I fall asleep thinking about it every night, I picture what they went through in the bathroom and that's how I fall asleep every single night," said Meghan Gregory.  

FOX 2: "Do you think it'll always be that way?"

"I hope not," she said.

It has been this way the last two years for Meghan Gregory, and her family.

Then-15-year-old Keegan Gregory was in the bathroom, at Oxford High School with 17-year-old Justin Shilling when he was murdered.

The boys were hiding in stalls and Keegan was able to send the following text messages to his mom:

"Help, gunshots, I’m hiding in the bathroom, OMG, Help, Mom."

Minutes later, the shooter killed Justin, in front of Keegan – then ordered Keegan up against the wall.

He recalls having two options - stay and be killed - or run. He ran – and lived.

"It was and always will be, the most terrifying moment of my life," Keegan said in his court statement Friday. "Being cornered with no option but to run out of the bathroom as fast as I could, hoping to live. Even after leaving the bathroom, I could see bodies on the floor, blood everywhere and knew that some of my peers were now gone."

"He still has his ups and downs every day," she said. "His sense of taste safety was taken from him. It takes a lot to feel comfortable, especially in public places or big crowds, but I think every day will be like that for a long time just the ups and downs. We never know what we're going to get."

Meghan, sitting alongside attorney Ven Johnson, representing dozens of families in an ongoing civil suit.

The focus this week, is the convicted killer - facing his punishment. And dozens of impact statements including Keegan's – the second time he had to be in the same room as the shooter.

"As much as I want us to give all of us closure, it will give us a sense, I think, of some relief, but I truly feel like we're not going to have relief until we know the entire truth of what happened that day," Meghan said.

She is referring to the recent, independent report – by Guidepost Solutions of the proven failures that the district did not provide a safe environment for students. It also leveled blame at the superintendent – his cabinet and the school board.

The report raised even more questions hindering closure for the family.

"I want all of my kids to just be able to live a normal life," said Meghan. "This has ripped so much away from every one of them."

The family recently moved to Florida haunted by the memories of Oxford. But they follow them. Meghan says all of her kids inspected bathrooms at their new schools before they even agreed to go.

"His new school, they have just single bathrooms and there's not very many of them," his mom said. "But it's like in your home where you walk in, and there's your bathroom, and you can lock the door. And that was the one thing he said, he feels safe."

More coverage:

• Oxford High School shooter sentenced to life in prison without parole
• Oxford shooting survivors meet a shattered new reality after mass killer’s sentencing
• ‘Today was about victims’: Prosecutor asks judge for maximum sentence for Oxford shooter

Keegan is a senior next year – Meghan says his innocence was robbed, but he’s gained wisdom even she learns from, and leans on.

FOX 2: "Is forgiveness on the table?"

"No, I want to. I want to be able to forgive," she said. "But sitting in court and watching him with no remorse, and the smirk on his face when my kid was saying how terrified he was, I can't. I'm not there maybe someday, but not right now." 

The shooter in court, showed very little reaction. After the hearing, he was taken to the Oakland County Jail.

After sentencing, he will remain there until he is processed through the Michigan Department of Corrections. Then he will be transferred to the Thumb Correctional Facility in Lapeer within the next week or so. He'll be staying there because of his age.