Mass. Native Recovering After UNC Charlotte Shooting
BOSTON (CBS) – Massachusetts native Drew Pescaro is continuing to recover from a campus shooting in North Carolina. It was the last day of classes on April 30th at UNC Charlotte when the 19-year-old was shot in the back through his chair. He was one of four injured. Two others died that day.
"I just remember looking over my shoulder and see a kid running in and pretty much that's when I knew things were about to go downhill," Pescaro told WBZ. "I was shot pretty early on in the process, so I didn't really see all that was going on around me. I just knew it was chaos."
Pescaro recalled that Riley Howell, one of the victims killed, charged at the 22-year-old suspect.
"Thankfully one of the students that ended up passing away, he decided to tackle the shooter which eventually led to him stop shooting and it saved countless lives that day," Pescaro said.
Pescaro, who grew up in Rutland, is out of the North Carolina hospital and recovering at home. He's doing better physically, but says his emotional recovery will take a lot longer. He is speaking out in hopes that his horrible experience will lead to change.
"It was a 50-50 chance of me even being here right now and if I don't take this second chance at life and use it to prevent it from happening to anyone else, you know, what's the point?"
Pescaro said he will return to campus over the summer to get comfortable, before he returns as a full time journalism student in the fall.
