LOS ANGELES – The Filipino student who emerged as a local hero on Friday’s grim shooting in Santa Monica remains humble, amid praises from fellow students and online netizens for his bravery.
Marcel Khan, a 22-year old student and library staff of Santa Monica College, was on his last day of work when the shooting erupted on June 7.
In an interview with Rappler.com, Khan said that he was getting ready to transfer to the University of Southern California, and that he was preparing a goodbye note for his co-workers on that fated afternoon.
A gunman went on a shooting rampage in Santa Monica College, killing at least four people on campus before being shot dead by local police. An AFP report identified the gunman as former student John Zwahiri.
Zwahiri, who wore black clothing and a tactical vest, allegedly killed his father and brother before burning down his home. He held a female driver hostage and forced her to drive him to the campus.
Khan told Rappler that there were 9 people in the library at the time of the shooting, including himself. They were near the circulation desk of the library, when the gunfire erupted.
A photo from the Los Angeles Times began circulating in social media detailing how Khan led 8 of his co-workers to safety.
Luigi Alessandro Bernasconi claimed that he was a friend of Khan and posted the photo.
“My good friend Marcel Khan was working the noontime shift in the library at the time of the shooting. He was working the front desk when the alleged gunman walked into the premises and opened fire with a semi automatic rifle,” Bernasconi said on Facebook. “Marcel along with one of his co-workers led about nine people into a safe room where they took cover from open fire.”
Khan has remained humble throughout the process, citing his co-worker Jan Juliani, the lead library assistant, as the real hero. According to Khan, Juliani had the key to the library’s safe room where the facility’s money is being kept.
“If it wasn’t for her steady hands and her instinct to get us into the room, 9 of us would all be dead,” Khan explained to Rappler’s Ryan Macasero.
Upon entering the room, Khan and the other students got as low to the ground as possible, in attempt to avoid gunfire. Zwahiri tried to trick the students into coming out of the safe room by claiming to be a police officer. The gunman told them to come out of hiding at the count of five.
When the students did not emerge, Zwahiri opened fire and “sprayed the door with bullets” right above their heads, Khan said.
Khan said that Juliani was calm and kept a steady hand in opening the door, before the students rushed into the safe room.
“One of my co-workers almost didn’t make it inside,” Khan recalled.
When the gunshots subsided, Khan and Juliani called 911 to alert the authorities that they were in the library. Khan also notified his brother and his girlfriend of their situation.
Even when the police came, the students were still unsure if they were out of danger. They pushed one of the safes to block the door, in an attempt to prevent the gunman from getting another chance to harm them.
“We weren’t sure [whom] to trust. We didn’t know if he was doing this alone or had a partner,” Khan told Rappler.
Khan said that a co-worker suggested that cops slide their identification under the door. It wasn’t until one from the group recognized the voice of a Santa Monica College security officer that they decided to finally come out of hiding.
(With reports from Rappler.com)
(www.asianjournal.com)
(LA Midweek June 12-14, 2013 Sec. A pg.1)