Vandroff said people in the conference room remained calm and used their smart phones to tell people they were okay, while finding out if their other colleagues were safe.
"The real excitement was some number of minutes later, around 8.30 a.m., when we heard gunfire very close to us," said Vandroff. "We looked up and we saw bullet holes on the top of the wall of the conference room."
Vandroff said nobody in his department was hurt, and he felt fortunate. But a colleague told him one of his friends died.
"The fact that I lost a friend today is still processing," said Vandroff. "I don't know. I'll go home and think about it tonight."
Standing at the doorway of her house, Shanika Hult, a resident whose home is about two blocks from the shooting spot, told Xinhua she felt afraid and shaken because the shooting was so close by.
"We are just trying to be safe, the best way we can," said Hult. "This is all we can do."
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