The Horrific details of 26-year-old Esteban Santiago's alleged shooting spree began to emerge just as some travelers cross country headed back to Columbus, like Alex Kotchkoski, were getting on their own flights.
"We were literally going on and people started looking up," said Kotchkoski.
Some watched on TV and social media as law enforcement began evacuating Fort Lauderdale's airport.
Others had a much closer view.
Ray Brown said even before his flight out of Columbus landed in Ft. Lauderdale, it was obvious something was horribly wrong.
"They've got everyone laying down here. There are two police officers behind us with their weapons drawn," he said.
Whether they flew out of Florida or not, travelers like Rekha Nire said the incident made for a tense flight.
"It was scary and I'm a person who's very much for gun control. So something has to be done," she said.
And though many are just happy to be back home, their thoughts are with victim's family members and the images they won't soon forget.
"It's bad news sad news," said Kotchkoski.