MANAGUA, Nicaragua -- Hundreds have been killed in Nicaragua since protests started in April over social security cuts. But the demonstrations have since turned into calls for President Daniel Ortega to step down, and some see leaving the country as their only option.

Anti-government protesters say they were attacked Monday night outside Managua, in the city of Jinotega, and a barrage of bullets left three dead. Police insist they were fired upon first.

The incident is the latest painful reminder that the turmoil in Nicaragua shows no signs of slowing. Many of the protesters say they're being threatened and forced to flee their towns.

CBS News met one young man who has been hiding out in a safe house. He goes by "Sombra," Spanish for "shadow." He said his family had to flee the country because they've received threats. He said he had been hiding in the safe house "all day long." He also said paramilitary forces loyal to Ortega have killed dozens of his classmates.

The government denies any involvement, but Josefa Meza wonders who else would have murdered her son Jonathan. Her other son has now fled the country, and she fears living in her own home.

With an economy rocked by turmoil, and with job losses estimated in the hundreds of thousands, there's concern Nicaragua's low number of asylum-seekers in the U.S. will start to climb.