CLEVELAND -- Witnesses in the Biswanath Halder trial testified Thursday about how they feared for their lives during the May 2003 shooting rampage at Case Western Reserve University.

Five women told the court about how they huddled together in a supply closet as shots rang out in Case's business school, reported NewsChannel5's Curtis Jackson.

"I just started praying," said shooting survivor Amanda Nicol. "I prayed for seven hours."

Their emotional story of survival was a stark contrast to the emotionless demeanor of Halder, the man prosecutors say stormed into the school, killing a student, and paralyzing dozens with fear.

The women say they were trapped in the closet for 7½ hours.

"It was just terrifying. Every second of the seven hours we were in that room was terrifying," said Shannon Wagner.

Prosecutors Show Security Video

Not knowing if they would live or die, and cut-off from phones, the women wrote what they feared would be their last letters to their families.

Shooting survivor Ladawn Crenshaw was overcome with emotion as she talked about writing letters to her husband and her daughter.

The women survived the ordeal, but say they still live with the memories, and some of them say they suffer from posttraumatic stress disorder.

"It's hard to go into any kind of sporting events, just because of the crowds and how loud it is. And it's just been difficult," said survivor Angela Lay.