Valentines Day turned out to be a tragic day for the Parkland community in Broward County. Seventeen people were killed and many more were injured during a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Wednesday afternoon. 

The gunman, Nikolas Cruz, has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. 

As you can imagine, it was a horrifying day for students, school staff, parents, and everyone affected by the tragic event. 

Many students say it was the scariest thing they've ever been through, as they hid under desks, hid in closets, and waited until the sound of the shots stopped. 

Cruz, who officials say was equipped with a gas mask and smoke grenades, set off a fire alarm to draw students out of their classrooms shortly before the school day ended.

Students quickly realized the fire alarm was not a drill, as Cruz stalked the halls with an AR-15, shooting dozens of students and staff. 

"We heard what we thought were fireworks go off everyone--started freaking out," student Will Gilroy said. "Previously, like a month before, we were told we were having an active shooting drill. A lot of us thought it was just the drill happening." 

Students told reporters that one of the scariest things was not knowing where the shooter was at, and where he may be headed next. 

"The entire school probably heard the pops and really nobody knew where it came from," student Aidan Minoff said. "As you know, there could be echoes left and right and it was really hard to identify it. So everyone just wanted to know where he was--Where are you safe? Are your friends safe? And it was chaos out there."

As the SWAT Team started to evacuate the school, students were running out in a single file line with their hands in the air -- and parents waited anxiously to see if their children were okay. 

A teacher at the school said students and staff were recently trained on how to handle an active shooter situation, but no amount of preparation could have kept them safe from accused shooter Nikolus Cruz. 

"We had a training recently. We could not have been more prepared for this situation, which is what makes it so frustrating because we have trained for this, we've trained the kids for what to do, and the frustration is that we did everything that we were supposed to do," said teacher Melissa Falkowski. "Broward County Schools prepared us for this situation and to still have so many casualties, at least for me, it's very emotional because I feel like our government, our country has failed us, has failed our kids and didn't keep us safe." 

Stoneman Douglas High School will remain closed for the week and grief counselors will be on hand today to help students and parents. 

School districts in the Tampa Bay area are also making counselors available to students because of how tragic the shooting was. 

The Pasco County Sheriff's Office is also increasing security today around county schools. There have been no threats locally, but the sheriff says it may make people feel safer to see law enforcement near the schools.