Families recall being separated from loved ones during Berrien County shooting

Dozens of families were in disbelief after shots were fired inside St. Joseph County Courthouse, Monday afternoon.

“I had goosebumps, nervous, shaken, anxiety, all of it,” said Shawn, one family member waiting to reunite with his wife. “I mean how else could you feel?”

There were as many feelings for shaken families as there were minutes of uncertainty about if their love ones were safe.

“Everyone else got evacuated but not them so they must’ve been right where it happened,” said Mike Ramsey.

Ramsey was out of the loop by the time he arrived to the courthouse.

He says he wrestled with troubling thoughts for what felt like forever to him.

“It’s a scary thing to come to public place and have gun fire and your family in danger,” he said.

His family, held inside the courthouse when he arrived, were his wife and daughter.

He says they were there to fill out paperwork.

That’s also the reason why Shawn’s wife was in court Monday.

He says he learned his wife was caught in the middle of this mess, while he was miles away in Stevensville.

“It’s a coincidence that she was here today,” he said. “And all I could think was that she was a victim of it and I tried to get here as fast as i could.”

Both families were safe, but still the thought of ‘what if’, unsettles them.

“There’s a lot of stuff lately and it scared me,” said Shawn.

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