Student who survived Parkland shooting ‘forced to relive grief’ five years later in UNC attack

‘Is this really happening to me again?’ Bella Miller, a UNC student-athlete wrote

A student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill—who was also a Parkland school shooting survivor—said she was “forced to relive grief” following the UNC shooting this week.

Bella Miller was a freshman at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida in February 2018 when a gunman opened fire at his former high school, killing 17 people.

Ms Miller is a junior at UNC, where she competes on the university’s gymnastics team.

The student-athlete posted on X on 28 August: “Is this really happening to me again? During my freshman year of HS, my Parkland community lost 17 angels.”

She continued, “Today, I am having to relive the grief and unease of a shooter on my campus once again. My heart goes out to my Chapel Hill family today. I know how hard these times can be.”

It was unclear whether Ms Miller was on campus during the attack.

Tailei Qi, a PhD student majoring in applied physical sciences major, was arrested and booked into Orange County Sheriff’s Office jail on a first-degree murder charge on Monday for fatally shooting Dr Zijie Yan, the head of the Department of Applied Sciences and Mr Qi’s academic adviser.

His next hearing is scheduled for 18 September.

Parkland shooter Nikolas Cruz was sentenced last November to life imprisonment without parole after a Florida jury failed to unanimously recommend the death penalty.

Cruz pleaded guilty to 17 counts of murder and 17 counts of attempted murder in connection to the shooting, the worst ever at a US high school.