LANSING, MI (WXYZ) — For the first time, the community is hearing from one of the Michigan State University students shot during last month's mass shooting.
Troy Forbush was shot twice during the attack that left three other students dead.
On Thursday, Forbush joined fellow Spartans at a March For Our Lives Rally in Lansing to call for gun reform.
“I fell to the ground from my seat and tried to act as if I were already dead," he said. “As he panned the room with his handgun, I plead for my life and screamed, 'Please don't shoot me!... We were met face-to-face with pure evil. Seconds after being shot clean through the lung, two entrance wounds and two exit wounds, laying in a state of shock that will never leave my mind and forever haunt me.”
Troy Forbush is one of five students who were shot but survived. Forbush is now an advocate for change, petitioning state legislators to pass gun safety laws.
Just this month, the state House passed legislation on universal background checks, firearm sale registration, and safe storage requirements. The question now is when will the governor sign it.
On Wednesday, a safe storage bill successfully passed through the House requiring anyone with a minor in their home to have their gun unloaded and locked in a storage container. On the docket when spring break is over, is a vote on red flag laws where a loved one can petition for a firearm to be removed from someone's home who is posing a threat.
Forbush wants state leaders to remember his story while casting their votes.
"The handgun being fired at me and my peers through the doorway entrance at the back of our classroom,” he said.
It will still be several weeks before the safe storage bill gets to Whitmer's desk if signed. The gun owner faces up to 93 days in jail or a $500 fine if a minor has possession of their gun.
People who oppose this bill say forcing someone to lock up their gun creates an additional barrier if they are trying to protect themselves.
