Glastonbury Family Held on Tarmac During Fort Lauderdale Airport Shooting

Inside Bradley International Airport, authorities stepped up security Friday evening following the horror that unfolded inside Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport

Flights set to arrive and depart from the area were canceled, but one flight that made it from Bradley to Ft. Lauderdale sat on the tarmac for hours.

"It's very chaotic almost, just looking out and seeing all the stuff going around and then not being able to tell us anything," said Hannah Ment.

Hannah and her mom, Wendy, posted a picture of them on social media to let family and friends know they're okay.

The two from Glastonbury spontaneously decided to take a weekend trip away. They left Bradley at 9 on Friday morning and were on one of the few planes allowed to land in Ft. Lauderdale after the shooting began inside the baggage claim area.

"If we were any earlier, obviously, we would have been in the baggage claim area," said Wendy.

"It was literally just half an hour before we got there, and it's crazy to think that we could have been in there at the time," said Hannah.

For hours, hundreds of passengers stayed inside the plane. Many of them kept a close eye on the news reports.

At one point, they noticed police stop someone next to the tarmac, check the vehicle and take an individual away.

"We can see police cars and helicopters," said Wendy.

"We can see outside. All the planes are just sitting here," said Hannah.

After more than 6 hours, all the passengers were finally allowed to leave.

As they walked inside the airport, Hannah said what they saw hit them hard: bags were strewn everywhere. They said they know the people who owned them dropped them as they ran for their lives.

Inside the airport, armed police stood guard with long guns and outside emergency vehicles were everywhere. It was all a reminder of the horror they just missed.

"We are very fortunate to be safe," said Hannah.

"It was frightening. We were lucky. It's horrible for those poor people that were there," said Wendy.

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