Lemoore man lives through mass shooting in Oregon

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- A Lemoore man lived through the terrifying moments of the mass shooting in Oregon and he is still there helping students deal with the tragedy.

His parents, Andrea and Martin Lott talked with Action News about it, "The grief and not knowing in those minutes is the most difficult thing I've had to go through in my life," Martin said.

They live 600 miles away in Lemoore but their son Justin lives in Roseburg and he works at the community college where the shots were fired.

Andrea Lott said, "I kind of panicked at first, I mean... I just felt like, oh... it's not real."

As the reality set in, they waited. Hours later, finally the Lotts got a text message from Justin and then, a phone call, "When I heard his voice, I got to talk to him for maybe, a minute... enough for him to say, 'I'm ok mom.'"

It gave them a sense of relief but they're still feeling the pain for those who lost loved ones.

"It's an awful thing when a parent has to bury a child," Martin Lott said, "Ii can only imagine what those parents are going through now and my heart goes out to them."

As for Justin, he's a basketball coach and a student advisor. So, from here, he's staying with his students and helping the survivors stay strong.