The shooting, Vereen said, “is so senseless. Her family is devastated by it. They are at a loss. She had an incredibly bright future.”

RELATED: Read and sign the online guestbook for Maura Binkley

Binkley had previously taken active shooter defense training, her aunt noted. Such training has become more common in recent years at schools and workplaces.

“We don’t know what happened for sure, but if the opportunity had presented itself, I’m sure she would have done all she could to save others,” Vereen said.

Maura Binkley, who was shot and killed Friday at a yoga class in Tallahassee, with her parents, Jeff and Margaret Binkley. (Family photo)

She is survived by her parents, Jeff and Margaret, and an older brother, Sean.

Late Friday, hours after the shooting, hundreds of Binkley’s friends and sorority sisters, some of whom Binkley mentored when they struggled at school, gathered together on campus.

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FSU’s Tri Delta chapter “is devastated by the passing of our beloved sister,” said Kim Sullivan, the sorority’s international president.

“As a leader in our chapter, Maura embodied the Tri Delta woman — brave, bold and kind,” Sullivan said. “Our hearts are with her family, our sisters and the FSU community during this difficult time.”

Last night we learned the tragic news that our Alpha Eta sister Maura Binkley was one of the victims of the shooting in Tallahassee, FL. Our Fraternity President Kimberlee Sullivan issued the following statement: https://t.co/QGqJyp1MPw — Tri Delta (@TriDelta) November 3, 2018

FSU was a special place for Binkley and her family. Not only did Binkley’s grandparents meet one another at the university before becoming engaged, her parents did too, Vereen said.

“FSU has a big place in our hearts,” she added. “Our family has garnet blood running through its veins.”

There are no words to express the shock and grief we feel after learning of the deaths of Maura Binkley and Dr. Nancy Van Vessem. To lose one of our students and one of our faculty members in this tragic and violent way is just devastating to the FSU family. 1/2 — President John Thrasher (@FSUPresThrasher) November 3, 2018

At Dunwoody High, Binkley, a former Girl Scout, took advanced-placement classes and was editor of the school yearbook. While attending FSU, Binkley studied abroad, earning school credits taking classes at a university in Germany and also traveling across Europe.

Her boyfriend, Briggs Ellison, said when he first met Binkley, “she completely had me.”

“I never felt so happy as when I was with her,” the 23-year-old FSU graduate student said. “She was outgoing and loving. Her personality infected others, and only in the most positive way. She always had a smile on her face, regardless of any difficult circumstances she had to face.”

Binkley hated violence and was proud to have shown her respects for the 17 people killed in the Parkland mass shooting, Ellison said.

“We talked about it the night she went to the Capitol,” he said. “I never ever realized then that she’d also become a victim.”

Condolences

Read and sign the online guestbook for Maura Binkley at on-ajc.com/Binkley