Survivor who missed Brown University shooting by minutes speaks out

By ADAM S. LEVY, US SENIOR SHOWBUSINESS REPORTER

Published: | Updated:

Survivor alum Eva Erickson detailed her harrowing experience as she was almost on hand during the deadly mass shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island on Saturday. Erickson initially was on a part of the campus that was locked down during the attack in a clip she posted to Instagram Stories Saturday, after departing the building on campus where shots were fired. On Sunday, the Minnesota native had more to say about the aftermath of the violent rampage, which left two people dead and nine injured, as a person of interest in connection with the deadly incident was taken into custody. Erickson went into detail about how close she came to actually being present for the violence, as she had been in a campus structure the shooter entered just moments before.

Survivor alum Eva Erickson detailed her harrowing experience as she was almost on hand during the deadly mass shooting at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island on Saturday. Erickson initially was on a part of the campus that was locked down during the attack in a clip she posted to Instagram Stories Saturday, after departing the building on campus where shots were fired. On Sunday, the Minnesota native had more to say about the aftermath of the violent rampage, which left two people dead and nine injured, as a person of interest in connection with the deadly incident was taken into custody. Erickson went into detail about how close she came to actually being present for the violence, as she had been in a campus structure the shooter entered just moments before.

Erickson, who appeared on the 48th season of the CBS series set in Fiji 's Mamanuca Islands, is a Ph.D. candidate and engineering and thermal science student at the Ivy League school. Erickson said an unusual twist of fate led her to leave the building minutes before shots rang out. 'I am so so extremely lucky that I was very unproductive at work today,' Erickson said. Erickson said she felt she was 'just not getting anything done' and headed for a separate part of the campus to recalibrate - in a move that potentially saved her life. I 'randomly decided I would go to the gym - I never go to the gym in the afternoon,' Erickson said. 'I was leaving the building within five minutes of the shooter coming in.' Erickson said that being on the campus the day after the deadly incident felt 'so eerie.'

Erickson, who appeared on the 48th season of the CBS series set in Fiji 's Mamanuca Islands, is a Ph.D. candidate and engineering and thermal science student at the Ivy League school. Erickson said an unusual twist of fate led her to leave the building minutes before shots rang out. 'I am so so extremely lucky that I was very unproductive at work today,' Erickson said. Erickson said she felt she was 'just not getting anything done' and headed for a separate part of the campus to recalibrate - in a move that potentially saved her life. I 'randomly decided I would go to the gym - I never go to the gym in the afternoon,' Erickson said. 'I was leaving the building within five minutes of the shooter coming in.' Erickson said that being on the campus the day after the deadly incident felt 'so eerie.'

She said that many students were heading home for the holidays for a place of comfort in the wake of the tragedy. 'Everybody is leaving,' Erickson said. 'Everyone is trying to get the hell away from Brown to get home to their families, where they can feel safe.' Erickson said she had assisted some of her hockey teammates retrieve their 'gear out of the rink' as they prepared to leave campus. 'To get there, I had to drive past the building ... where the shooting took place, where I work,' she said. 'And the door that I'd exited mere minutes before the shooter would have entered was covered up, boarded off, crime scene tape all around the building, still a lot of police presence.'

She said that many students were heading home for the holidays for a place of comfort in the wake of the tragedy. 'Everybody is leaving,' Erickson said. 'Everyone is trying to get the hell away from Brown to get home to their families, where they can feel safe.' Erickson said she had assisted some of her hockey teammates retrieve their 'gear out of the rink' as they prepared to leave campus. 'To get there, I had to drive past the building ... where the shooting took place, where I work,' she said. 'And the door that I'd exited mere minutes before the shooter would have entered was covered up, boarded off, crime scene tape all around the building, still a lot of police presence.'

Erickson captioned the emotional post Sunday: 'I, just like everyone else at Brown, am processing a lot of emotions relating to the situation. 'I hope this gives you a window into what we are experiencing. This can¿t keep happening to our students.' The reality show alum - who was the first openly autistic contestant on Survivor - marked herself safe in an earlier post Saturday. Erickson said, 'I am safe!!. Yes, my office at Brown is in the building of the shooting but I was very lucky I left my lab 15 minutes prior to the active shooter alert to go to the gym.'

Erickson captioned the emotional post Sunday: 'I, just like everyone else at Brown, am processing a lot of emotions relating to the situation. 'I hope this gives you a window into what we are experiencing. This can’t keep happening to our students.' The reality show alum - who was the first openly autistic contestant on Survivor - marked herself safe in an earlier post Saturday. Erickson said, 'I am safe!!. Yes, my office at Brown is in the building of the shooting but I was very lucky I left my lab 15 minutes prior to the active shooter alert to go to the gym.'

Erickson joined her hockey teammates at the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center after the campus locked down. Erickson said, 'I¿m currently locked in the school gym sheltering in place until the shooter is [caught]. The only other member of my lab working in the lab today has safely been evacuated.' As of Sunday, one shooting victim remained in critical condition, said Kelly Brennan, a spokesperson for the hospital the victims were transported to. Six other victims were in the Intensive Care unit, and two more were stable. Erickson, who was a runner-up for Survivor's $1 million grand prize, opened up to the university earlier this year about her experience on the series.

Erickson joined her hockey teammates at the Olney-Margolies Athletic Center after the campus locked down. Erickson said, 'I’m currently locked in the school gym sheltering in place until the shooter is [caught]. The only other member of my lab working in the lab today has safely been evacuated.' As of Sunday, one shooting victim remained in critical condition, said Kelly Brennan, a spokesperson for the hospital the victims were transported to. Six other victims were in the Intensive Care unit, and two more were stable. Erickson, who was a runner-up for Survivor's $1 million grand prize, opened up to the university earlier this year about her experience on the series.

'It was actually so brutal,' Erickson told the college this past March. 'You don’t have any of your support system. You don’t even know what time it is. You’re just out there sleeping in the dirt and eating nothing but coconuts. The amount of coconuts I consumed will make me never, ever, ever want to eat a coconut again.' Speaking with Minnesota's Pioneer Press in May, Erickson went into detail about being the first openly autistic contestant on the CBS staple.

'I didn¿t go onto Survivor to try to create this platform to speak about autism,' Erickson said. 'It¿s just part of my life.' She said, 'The world has a lot of misconceptions about autism right now, and it is so important for people like me to share my story so that we can clear those up and help open this conversation and recognize that autism is not something wrong with you, but it is something that is special and unique, and it makes you who you are. 'It might give you challenges that are different than other people, but it also gives you strength.'

'I didn’t go onto Survivor to try to create this platform to speak about autism,' Erickson said. 'It’s just part of my life.' She said, 'The world has a lot of misconceptions about autism right now, and it is so important for people like me to share my story so that we can clear those up and help open this conversation and recognize that autism is not something wrong with you, but it is something that is special and unique, and it makes you who you are. 'It might give you challenges that are different than other people, but it also gives you strength.'

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