SOUTH BEND — The shootings at Northern Illinois University sent a wave of fear through parents. A handful of NIU students are from our area.

WSBT got a call Thursday afternoon from a father scared and wanting more information about the shootings. He had yet to hear from his son who is a student at the university.

It's what many family members felt in the hours surrounding Thursday’s shootings.

Bill and Jean Batts of South Bend talked to their granddaughter Christina Thursday morning. She’s a student at Northern Illinois University.

“I called her to wish her a happy birthday,” said Bill.

Little did they know that hours later the world at NIU would be turned upside down by a lone gunman — terrifying students and their parents.

“I was on my way to practice. I had just made it to the doors, and when I turned my back there was a guy that came up and he was like, ‘You, get back in here.’ He was yelling at people to lock the doors, there was a shooting going on,” said student Sunsea Shaw over the phone.

Shaw made sure to call her worried mother in South Bend right away.

“When they told me I couldn't leave, I called her and told her, ‘Mom there's something going on around here. I don't know what's going on yet, but I love you,'" explained Shaw.

When Bill first learned of the shooting he remembered, “You think the worst — you're confused. You don't really know what's happening since you have a child there."

He says he got a call that his granddaughter was safe but scared.

“Oh, she was very frightened,” said Bill.

But he knows his worries are far from over.

“It could happen anywhere regardless of any security you try and put in place to prevent these types of things. There's always going to be an incident where someone falls through the cracks,” said Bill.

Northern Illinois University has set up several hotlines and locations where students can get counseling.