Keith Awad has been working with the family of the fallen gunman since Sunday and was with friends on the floor of the library on Monday night.
“It was terrifying,” he said. “It’s crazy how fast this has gone from bad to just totally out of hand… I was scared for my life. But we’re all okay.”
‘He doesn’t really like me’: Witness pleads for info
An unnamed witness, who wished his name not be used, told ABC News that in the brief moments prior to the shootings, the gunman fired in the direction of the library.
“He kept yelling, ‘God is great!’ He just seemed very out of it because he wasn’t even carrying a rifle,” he said.
“I just yelled for a good two minutes, like, he kept shouting God is great. He didn’t say anything.”
The witness who spoke to ABC News was close friends with Kip Kinkel, the second young man killed.
“One of my brothers was killed yesterday. He was a good person,” he said, adding that Kip was with his father when he was killed.
‘They’re in shock’: Witness explains ‘totally surreal’ scene
A relative of the gunman said the man appeared to have been in a mental and emotional crisis from the moment he got back to the residence.
“A few days ago it was terrible,” Kevin Sullivan said. “A few days ago he showed out of control, became very violent. I’m a big believer in the Lord and the people he’s talking about are people from the Lord.
“The Lord took him (to the hospital) and I knew it was God, I couldn’t believe it at the time… and it’s really hard.”
The relative said that upon hearing that a second young man had been killed, Kip’s father and stepmother had gone shopping together.
“They thought they had the situation all under control and Kip went back to his room and then he ran home, got locked in his room and called his mom,” he said.
The relative said that when his father returned home the next morning, Kip was gone. All he could find were words on his computer screen, words about God.
“They never knew why he did it,” he said, adding that his father didn’t see Kip “for months after and never