SPRINGBORO — One year ago, two life long best friends from Springboro survived the Oregon District Shooting.
They sat down with News Center 7′s James Brown to tell their story.
Kasey Hughes and Cameron Campbell met when they were eight years old.
Both soccer players, the two began a friendship that just kept getting stronger.
“We literally did everything together: high school spring break, football and basketball games.” explained Campbell. “You could not separate us. "
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The night started like any other when the pair headed to the Oregon District around 11:30 p.m. that Saturday night.
They spent the majority of the night at Hole in the Wall bar before heading over to Ned Peppers.
“I remember standing in back of line and Kacey was walking toward me, taking her time really. We were just being goofy,” remembered Campbell.
Then the shots fired.
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“I didn’t react but I heard the sound. I heard everything that was happening,” said Hughes.
At first the pair thought the noise was fireworks, but when the sound would not stop, a Ring doorbell video showed what Campbell did next.
“When I grabbed her and pulled her into that doorway, she was like super shaken and jumpy,” said Campbell. “We both kind of were. I didn’t want her to get out of that doorway.”
Campbell remembers people running in every direction but not the shooter running past them.
“I called my dad,” remembered Hughes. “I wanted to like, I’m gonna start crying, just tell them I loved them. I just assumed we were going to die. I didn’t get a hold of my dad, so I called my mom and just told her I didn’t think we were going to make it.”
It was only 30 seconds the pair said before the shooter going down and the cops being there, but it felt much longer.
“The cop came up to us and he said he’s down, he’s down,” said Hughes. “And we left, but stepping out of that doorway two people in front of us had been shot. Literally two people that been in the line in front of us.”
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The 32 seconds of gunfire that night felt like “forever” said the pair.
It was not until the next morning, while watching the news did Hughes and Campbell realize what had really happened.
“At first took a huge impact on my mental health and everything,” explained Hughes. “But seeing a counselor kind of helped me get though that.”
“As far as friendship I think it got stronger,” said Campbell. “We’ve been more appreciative of each other after everything been through together.”
Hughes credits Campbell to saving her life that night, while Campbell thinks she developed a lot of strength.
“Going into that night if you asked me if I was strong enough to react the way I did, I probably would have said no,” said Campbell. “I could say now that I’m pretty strong. I think mentally I grew a lot.”
Cox Media Group
