'", "It was very traumatic for me, because there was no comfort whatsoever," she said. Im freaking out, Touray said, leaning on her knees. "And it became evident very quickly that almost two whole classes were missing.". By clicking Accept All Cookies, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. 2. This time was about rage, as one March for Our Lives staffer put it, but thats not what Fuentes and Touray were feeling. This is my song, shed said to at least three different songs. Maggie was in third grade at the time of the shooting. This years rally wasnt meant to be like the one in 2018. Nobody was in danger. Thank you so much for all your work, she said. Im hoping that you do it this time, though, Touray said, sensing Hoggs exhaustion after what had already been a frustrating week of discussions with lawmakers. (Adam Wolffbrandt/ABC News) The experience of . At home it felt like we tried every therapy: trauma-focused [cognitive behavioral therapy], play therapy, grief therapy, talk therapy, equine therapy, tapping, aromatherapy, MNR, and art and music therapy. Sandy Hook survivors speak out for first time -- and share heartache 'that it keeps happening' ABC News sat down with four students who lived through the 2012 mass shooting. "I couldn't get the sounds out of my head during the night," he told ABC News. "That's a thought that probably does not go away," Raddatz told her. After he was done singing, the 21-year-old began to tell the judges why he traveled from Santa Fe, Texas, for a chance to be on the show. Educators teach peace and nonviolence. It was just past 1 p.m. Saturday and, combined, they had already talked to NBC, CBS, NPR and MSNBC, along with a batch of other news outlets. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society named her one of its students of the year in March for raising money and awareness for the disease. All five survivors shared the horror they felt when they learned a gunman killed 21 people at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde last month. Catalog this book for the school library, but not that one. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 6203604. She will never again talk to her friend Helena Ramsay about their favorite musicians or joke with Nicholas Dworet in a Shakespearean accent. +117 students and teachers have been fatally shot at schools since Sandy Hook. Hannah DysingerDraffenville, Kentucky 2018The bullet that killed her best friend ended up in her ribcage. Mary Ann Jacob, a library clerk at Sandy Hook Elementary, also detailed her experience to ABC News. ", Fuentes added, "This story that I've experienced -- my life is becoming more and more of a reality for people of my age.". They could hold hands. I was drowning. Now the rally was nearing its end, and Gonzlez was about to take the stage. Annie Reneau. "I couldn't handle it," she said. "I'm struck by how sad it makes me that it keeps happening. David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 Parkland, Fla. high school shooting and Craig Nason, a survivor of the 1999 Columbine massacre, . "Ten years and two months ago, I survived the Sandy . Its people like you.. 28 Feb 2023 17:55:53 She had been invited to speak at an event hosted by Moms Demand Action in front of the Capitol Reflecting Pool, but she hadnt understood until she and Fuentes arrived that hundreds of people and dozens of cameras would be watching her. At the microphone was Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who had followed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who had followed Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who had followed Moms Demands founder, Shannon Watts. In so many ways, Mrs. Clements brought my daughter back to us. At the time, Fuentes thought she was lucky. They were among the most important figures in the fight for reform, Touray had just learned. She was represented by a speaking agency and, before the pandemic, traveled a couple times a month to speak at colleges and nonprofits. Jacob said she came to realize the gravity of the situation -- and the immensity of the loss -- later, at a nearby fire station, where parents were looking to account for their children. Now Touray and Fuentes decided to get a photo together in front of a blue background adorned in March for Our Lives logos. with her life. Their classmates witnessed these murders. "The intercom was left on, so everything was amplified," she says. , the local newspaper, in a front-page editorial on the five-year anniversary pointed out that, What we have learned is that not all good intentions came across as they were meant. It was an upsetting characterization of a community that has turned political points of view, hearts, schedules and philanthropic priorities inside out to support whomever needed it in the aftermath. Jesse O'Neill. March Fourth to end gun violence at the US Capitol. I also struggled to learn, make friends, or trust my own sense of reality. It can generally be healthy and meaningful to speak out about your experiences. Story editing by Lynda Robinson. But being in big crowds and "not knowing if someone has a gun can re-trigger me at times," she says. Shed gone to funeral after funeral, staring into open caskets at swollen faces that looked nothing like the kids she knew. According to a pastor close to her family, the unnamed girl lay among the bodies of her 15 classmates until she thought it was safe to leave. That bipartisan legislation included instituting mandatory background checks and banning the sale of high-capacity magazines. Gradually the mind kicks back in and then decisions and realities came one after another. So as a teenager who's had all of that ripped from me -- it's almost like something that you wish that I could have. I think Im going to throw up, Touray said, rushing into a white tent nearby. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. "It's like the epitome of what you imagine -- the typical teenage American life, the carefree worries of what that era of your experience is. Solomon said the girl's family was suffering survivor's guilt because many of their friends were not as lucky and had lost children in the tragedy. Pressleys words left Touray feeling hopeful, even after a more somber meeting with Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, who told the group that he wasnt sure whether the Senate would pass any new legislation, and if they did, it wouldnt include many of the items they wanted most. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Those bonds remain strong today. ABC News sat down with four students who lived through the 2012 mass shooting. Despite the trauma that students, teachers and families have experienced from past mass shootings at schools across the country, folks at Sandy Hook Promise and survivors like Fuentes, Eastmond and Walczk, are hopeful that change will happen. In the years that followed, parents and survivors, some of whom are featured in the accounts below, have dedicated their lives to fighting for change. What Touray didnt say: Theyd escaped through a window and ran. Thousands of other students have the same story. After Emilie died, I remember going out to our car to say a prayer with my husband, and as we started the prayer the words came to my mind, that everything was going to be OK, and that Emilie was OK. Everything was fine. According to a pastor close to her family, the unnamed girl lay among the bodies of her 15 classmates until she thought it was safe to leave. So, it's not easy at all, especially being young. The school district floated the idea of bringing in substitute teachers if we were not up to returning, but not one staff member thought the kids should return to a school full of strangers. Dec. 14, 2018, marks six years since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children between the ages of 6 and 7, as well as six adult staff members, were killed. Support grief this way, but not that way. God, why am I still crying? Touray asked, embarrassed, as she followed the group toward a waiting area near the stairs. Touray smiled, gratified that her question had elicited a thoughtful response, but she was also distracted, because a belligerent man on the steps behind her was screaming about government brainwashing. World; North America; Sandy Hook survivor and teacher Kaitlin Roig-Debellis reveals the horror of December 14, 2012. 1 / 7. Living through a mass shooting changed all four of the students. . #TheTeenageDream http://www.sandyhookpromise.org/teenagedream**. Two were killed. "Our students are having feelings of loss of sense of safety, where that is different from past generations it's a different experience," Dr. Rachel Masi, a clinical psychologist and director of research at Sandy Hook Promise, said. And angry at the same time, because, you know, the world watched what happened to Sandy Hook," Jacob said. She is returning this month with other teens to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook shooting at the Annual National Vigil for All Victims of Gun Violence. It was easier when the horrified mind took control of the body. \u201cA survivor of the Sandy Hook School mass shooting in 2012 is a student at Michigan State University: \u201cI am 21-years-old and this is the second mass shooting I\u2019ve lived through. Nolan Brandy, San Bernadino, CA 2017. . She is now the co-lead of the Upper Fairfield chapter of Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, which includes Newtown and Sandy . This is her story. ''I have to navigate every single day -- while also struggling and dealing with survivor's guilt -- which is the biggest hurdle to try and overcome in this process. Fuentess message was on Tourays mind that night in her hotel room, where she left the bathroom light on because in Michigan she shared a bedroom with her younger sister and was sleeping alone for the first time since she was 4. "Nothing's ever as simple as we see but there are things to do," Masi said. (Video: The Washington Post), Dozens of attendees scattered in fear after a man stormed on stage during a moment of silence at the March for Our Lives protest in Washington, D.C. on June 11. Of the 20 children killed Friday in the Newtown, Conn., school, eight were boys and 12 were girls. Around 1 a.m. Tuesday, across the street from the location of Monday's Michigan State University Shooting, 21-year-old Jackie Matthews took to TikTok, with an emotional video reflection about "the second mass shooting I've lived through.". And now it was nearly her turn. Hear how their teenage years were impacted by the trauma of surviving a school shooting. "I'm definitely hopeful that we will decrease gun violence.". Just calm down. The Newtown Bee, the local newspaper, in a front-page editorial on the five-year anniversary pointed out that, What we have learned is that not all good intentions came across as they were meant. It was an upsetting characterization of a community that has turned political points of view, hearts, schedules and philanthropic priorities inside out to support whomever needed it in the aftermath. Kaitlin Roig-DeBellis had just sat her first-graders down for a morning meeting at Sandy Hook Elementary . A woman walks a child toward the Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 15, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. A bullet remains in his heart. Walczak was shot four times and the last bullet paralyzed him. Subscribe to our newsletter to get updates on gun violence prevention. (including 22 children) 268. Dec. 14, 2018, marks six years since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children between the ages of 6 and 7, as well as six adult staff members, were killed. Carlitos RodriguezParkland, Florida 2018Barricaded himself behind a door. Lily Altavena. Thousands of people were packed onto the hill behind them leading up to the Washington Monument, and a layer of gray clouds lingered overhead, but the rain had stopped. To Fuentes, being right didnt matter much, not anymore. And that should never run through a 7-, 8-year-old kid's head. Days later, her jacket was found along the banks of the Mohawk River. Jackie Hegarty was a second-grader at Sandy Hook Elementary School when an intruder armed with . "These are real things they're experiencing and the more we talk about it and the more we give those kids the voice to talk about it, the more that we're going to see change.". We are grateful that our bodies and the bodies of our children are whole and we strive to support those who are not. Nigerians await election results in competitive race, Odesa opera house remains heart of the city amid ongoing war, Ukrainians move home and promise: Its going to go back to normal, This is my only hope: Young Nigerians gear up for presidential election. It needs to be legislation, it needs to be action. It was nice of him to say, Touray thought, but she didnt really agree. On some days, the constant battling of fear and anxiety left my baby girl exhausted, and she often fell asleep in school, and often in the arms of Mrs. Clements. A few minutes later, a man with a clipboard and a headset ushered Touray toward the stage. Its okay, Vickie Brent-Touray told her. Touray had just started seeing a therapist, because fear had changed who she was, too. Experiencing the trauma of one school shooting is one too many. The following narratives, written by survivors of the Sandy Hook shooting and excerpted from the book. As Touray readied to go on stage, rehearsing the lines in her mind, Fuentes sat in the distance, beneath the shade of a white oak. On stage, a speaker announced that people needed to stop running. Nine years ago, Walczak was at school when one of his classmates opened fire at him and three of his friends. "And we still act like we don't know how to solve the problem is maddening. "There was glass and obviously blood and I didn't want to step on anything. When the time came to return to school a few weeks later, the staff and the teachers were once again faced with the choice of whether to take care of ourselves or others. A gunman entered the building and fatally shot 20 children and six adults before taking his own life. Published on February 27, 2023 12:56 PM. It has to happen in days, not weeks.. The following narratives, written by survivors of the Sandy Hook shooting, provide intimate accounts of the transformative nature of trauma. It was easier not to have any decisions to make. We all loved this boy so much. Teacher Abbey Clements was in her classroom at the time of the shooting. *** These videos contain sensitive content related to gun violence that may be triggering for some viewers. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking stories about interest? Six months ago, she was grief-stricken and adrift, struggling to sleep, despite the melatonin and Benadryl. SCHENECTADY, NY - 14-year-old Samantha Humphrey was reported missing on November 26th. But this year, she has decided she wants to be a teacher at Sandy Hook School. And it will get better. Her mother encouraged her to speak up, so she did. Slowly the mind grasps that the dead can never be brought back, yet you cant stop that mind from churning out ways you could make it better and its all made worse by a town full of opinions. We can no longer be complacent.\u201d\u201d Survivors of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting boarded a bus in the parking lot of Newtown High School at 5 a.m. Saturday for the drive down to Washington, D.C., to join in the March . People wanted to help me forget, because a loud noise would go off and Id get so upset that I couldnt breathe, or even think. Dec 14, 2018, 12:51 PM EST. They were "trying to get the Democratic caucus to show urgency on the assault weapons ban being brought up for a vote before the end of the lame duck session," she says, referring to the last chance for Democrats to push through their legislative priorities before Republicans take control of the House of Representatives in January. With this in mind, we have an easy-to-fill-outonline formthat just takes a couple of minutes to complete. The next morning, her chance to ask it came at the base of the U.S. Capitol steps during a meeting with Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a Democratic congresswoman from Massachusetts. "I think for teachers, they are that first line of defense in the school, they really know their students," Masi said. Suddenly, as they were walking over to it, hundreds of people rushed by the metal fence in front of them, screaming as they sprinted toward Constitution Avenue, away from the rally. Once inside, he turned left instead of right, where Nicole's classroom was located, and opened fire, killing 20 terrified first graders and 6 educators in the nation's first mass shooting at an elementary school and one of the worst in U.S. history. When I was 9 and 10, I tried to forget it all. Through our proven, evidence-informed Know the Signs programs and sensible, bipartisan school and gun safety legislation, we teach young people and adults to recognize, intervene, and get help for individuals who may be socially isolated and/or at risk of hurting themselves or others. But none of the people being handed the packets knew whether that was true. Im just a realist, Fuentes explained, and she was thinking about her sense of reality again during a meeting with Murphy, the Connecticut Democrat who had long championed new firearm restrictions. I thought we could change things and make it so that things like what happened at Oxford dont happen anymore. Cindy Clement Carlson has lived in Sandy Hook for 18 years. How difficult the aftermath is, and the decisions it entails, hasnt been easily understood. All rights reserved. Were going to outlive almost everybody in this building, hopefully.. December 14, 2015, 5:00 AM. Gomes, the Sandy Hook survivor, told Touray she would stand next to her. Nicole Melchionno who was a second grader at Sandy Hook Elementary on Dec. 14, 2012 testified Thursday at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on gun violence about her experience . When law enforcement arrived, Nicole and her classmates and teacher ran to a nearby firehouse, where she was later reunited with her family. You were meant for this.. "And the fact that we saw what happened at Sandy Hook, and we saw how many children died, and how affected the survivors were, and how the ripple effects of gun violence affect so many people," she said. Enough is enough.. Look under the hood, and take a behind the scenes look at how longform journalism is made. At home it felt like we tried every therapy: trauma-focused [cognitive behavioral therapy], play therapy, grief therapy, talk therapy, equine therapy, tapping, aromatherapy, MNR, and art and music therapy. "Let's bring it into the light and say these are the concerns that our kids are having," said Masi. 17 people were killed. 1. Jackie Hegarty, a survivor of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, visits the Sandy Hook Permanent Memorial in Newtown, Connecticut. Demanding that conservative lawmakers acknowledge a moral obligation to protect children from guns hadnt succeeded, Fuentes realized, so maybe that was the wrong approach. It is the deadliest mass murder by a single perpetrators in the history of Thailand. 17-year-old Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting survivor Cyrena Arokium speaks with "CNN This Morning" ten years after the shooting that left 20 first-graders and six adults dead. She needed to take breaks. I really need you to hype me up this rally is huge, she texted her mother from behind a tall black sign that read, DONT LOOK AWAY.. "My heart goes out to all the families and the friends of the Michigan State shooting," she . Our mission is simple, and our ambitions unbeatable, she had shouted to a roaring crowd, so overcome with nerves that she vomited on stage before finishing her speech. Courtesy Jane Dougherty. She's applying to college now, with plans to study public policy and maybe business. She took part in March for Our Lives, a student-led mass demonstration in March 2018 in Washington, D.C., to push for gun control legislation. Fuentes stared into the teens vacant eyes, her heart aching for Tourays anguish and her own and for all the others who had been scarred by school shootings and would never entirely escape what theyd endured. The survivors here illustrate how theyve practiced healing, forgiveness and faith in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting. NEWPORT The bell atop Our Lady of Mercy Chapel will ring 26 times Tuesday morning at 9:30, echoing across the Salve Regina University campus to honor the lives lost at Sandy Hook Elementary School nine years ago.. Anne Marie Carlson, a survivor of the Sandy Hook shooting and freshman student at the university, requested the ringing of the bell. And if I'm somewhere that has stairs or something, it's very nerve-wracking because I am stuck there.". The joy of her conquering her greatest fear, is beyond my adult comprehension. And that was why, as the summer heat climbed above 80, she refused to take off the black sweatshirt that listed each of their names: Madisyn Baldwin, Hana St. Juliana, Tate Myre, Justin Shilling. Standing in front of her, Pressley thought for a moment. Arokium, a second grader at the . I suffer from PTSD, depression, anxiety, insomnia. Meaningful progress, she knew this time, would not come easy, if ever. But shed come to D.C. despite her growing cynicism, because she needed this community of survivors and the activism that helped her manage the trauma. ", "Somehow in that moment, by God's grace, [she] was able to act as she was already deceased.". Turn on desktop notifications for breaking news? For more on Nicole Melchionno and the 10th anniversary of the Sandy Hook Elementary school shooting, subscribe now to PEOPLE or pick up this week's issue, on newsstands Friday. Its just a cowinkidence. In 2018, Samantha Fuentes survived a school shooting in Parkland, Florida. We knew it wasn't a drill," Jackie recalled. "It sparked something in me," she says. Then Touray ascended with the rest of the activists, stopping and steadying herself in the middle of the stage. Touray had reconnected with a fellow Oxford survivor and hung out with new friends who had lived through the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary, including Jordan Gomes, a teen whod joined her in the meeting with Blumenthal. The World is a public radio program that crosses borders and time zones to bring home the stories that matter. The joy of her conquering her greatest fear, is beyond my adult comprehension. She stood at the lectern and glanced down at the speech on her phone. But we can no longer just provide love and prayers. Nicole was in the second grade when a gunman shot and killed 26 people at her school in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012. My daughter has many years to decide what she wants to do with her life. RT @K12ssdb: This week Katy Perry (@katyperry) and @AmericanIdol put a spotlight on one survivor's story. I dont think the same thing is necessarily going to work, Fuentes said afterward, sitting on a stone bench outside Murphys office as Touray listened. Like others who lived through the unspeakable horrors of that day, she remains scarred from the trauma she endured. I cant believe this is happening again, the students distraught mother told the Detroit Free Press in the aftermath of the Monday night carnage, which also took place on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School mass shooting in Parkland, Fla. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Katy Perry breaks down on American Idol: Our country has fking failed us!, Pool hall mass shooter who killed 7 taken out by cops, accomplice surrenders, MSU student injured in shooting is paralyzed from chest down, Mississippi gunman who killed 6, including ex-wife, had history mental illness, source claims, MSU student who survived second school shooting wonders when will it end, Michigan State University shooter no stranger to cops, motive remains unknown, MSU student who lost pals in Oxford school shooting relives horror. Touray buried her head in her hands, until at last she looked up. The fact that this is the second mass shooting that I have now lived through is incomprehensible, Matthews said. A survivor of the Sandy Hook School mass shooting in 2012 is a student at Michigan State University: "I am 21-years-old and this is the second mass shooting I've lived through. How difficult the aftermath is, and the decisions it entails, hasnt been easily understood. I cant speak for you or what happened at Oxford, he told her, his tone serious. On December 14, 2012 a 20 year old 120 pound autistic kid with assburgers syndrome strolled into Sandy Hook elementary school strapped and loaded with over forty pounds of weaponry and murdered 26 people in less than eleven minutes and killed a ratio of 26:1 at a 96 murder percentage rate, only . Two Connecticut State Police officers escort a class of students and two adults out of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 14, 2012, after a shooter entered the building and killed 20 children and six adults before taking his own life. Nolan BrandySan Bernadino, California 2017The bullet broke two of his ribs and lacerated portions of his kidney and liver. She was a student at Sandy Hook elementary school, when 20 pupils and six staff were killed. The lone survivor of one of the two Sandy Hook Elementary School first-grade classrooms where Adam Lanza allegedly shot and killed 20 children tricked the gunman by playing dead, the girl's pastor . Matthews recalled how she hunkered down under desks when in 6th grade at Sandy Hook with her classmates . A college student who survived the deadly shooting that killed three students and critically wounded five others Monday night at Michigan State University also lived through the horrific Sandy Hook massacre over 10 years ago. I want them with me up there, Touray said, after someone suggested that she change clothes. Emma NeesRockford, Washington 2017Shot through the abdomen while running from shooter. "If there is even one step we can take to save another child, or another parent, or another town, from the grief that has visited Tucson, and Aurora, and Oak Creek, and Newtown, and communities from Columbine to Blacksburg before that -- then surely we have an obligation to try," Obama said at a vigil for the Sandy Hook victims in 2012. Paralyzed from waist down. Jones and his company Free Speech Systems have been found liable for $1.5 billion in two defamation trials over lies that Jones . "The truth is that gun violence is in everybody's backyard across the nation," Fuentes said. I try not to be jaded, said Fuentes, who still had shrapnel embedded in her leg and behind her right eye. Speaking from a room across the road from where Anthony Dwayne McRae gunned down several MSU students just hours before, Matthews said she still suffers from a full-blown PTSD fracture in her lower back from the hours spent crouching in her classroom. Like so many others who survived the shooting, she was also plagued with anxiety. September 7, 2022. EIN: 46-1657101. Newtown Action Alliance/YouTube, @indigogloves/Twitter. Shed heard of Parkland, but knew almost nothing about it. So she ignored her dread and got on the plane. Updated. But Murphy urged Fuentes, Touray and the other activists to keep doing what theyd been doing. The Uvalde shooting that left 21 dead and 17 more wounded instantly brought Arokium back 10 years to the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, on Dec. 14, 2012. Samantha Fuentes, Parkland, FL 2018. On the TV outside Murphys office, broken families from Uvalde and a mass shooting in Buffalo were testifying in front of a congressional committee. His older brother Nick was killed. Quotes from the interviews were used throughout the 360 work. People who are at risk of hurting themselves or others often show warning signs before an act of violence takes place. With the reality of school shootings, Masi said it's important to have open conversations with students about their concerns. More. "There were neighbors telling us all the updates -- that a class had been found in a closet, that other people were still in the firehouse," she remembered of the aftermath 10 years ago. That promise that everything was going to be OK. Real survivors share how their teenage years were impacted by the trauma of surviving a school shooting. Now I want to remember, because Im at the age of action and responsibility. A vote focused on background checks, led by Sens. 6-Year-Old Shot Va. . They were all so smart and determined. A group of survivors, including Fuentes and Touray, had been asked to stand behind her in a show of solidarity. According to a report released earlier this year by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, gun violence is the leading cause of death for teens, which is a concern facing many students returning to school this Fall. ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Theres training for a wild animal in the school, for high wind, for an active shooter. She was too shaken to say anything more. "It's just so painfully common in this country," she says. Describe forgiveness, but dont prescribe forgiveness. It's been nine years since a gunman murdered first-grader Jesse Lewis, 19 of his schoolmates, and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.. Jesse would be 15 now, the same age as some of the students at Oxford High School, where a shooting last week took the lives of 14-year-old Hana St. Juliana, 16-year-old Tate Myre, 17-year-old Justin Shilling, and 17-year-old Madisyn . Registered 501(c)(3). But those efforts failed. We've received your submission. Despite the challenges that he has faced over the years, Walczak -- as well as Fuentes and Eastmond -- said they want others to know that shootings are preventable. Like |. Americans are afraid to go to school, the movies, the mall, concerts, work, church, parking lots. Touray hadnt thought much about school shootings before her own. But the fact that it was the exact same thing completely re-triggered me and my anxiety.". 'S bring it into the light and say These are the concerns that our kids are,. It, '' she says last she looked up related to gun violence. `` time, because fear changed! My head during the night, '' she says our Lives logos after funeral staring! 8-Year-Old kid 's head concerns that our kids are having, '' Jacob said the mall concerts... Told Touray she would stand next to her friend Helena Ramsay about their favorite or! This country, '' jackie recalled Hook for 18 years Fuentes thought she was grief-stricken and adrift, to. Are at risk of hurting themselves or others often show warning signs before an act of violence takes place live..., Mrs. Clements brought my daughter back to us few minutes later, a man with clipboard. 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Touray toward the Sandy Hook Elementary school when one of its students of the shooting, know! Years were impacted by the trauma of one school shooting how sad it makes me that it happening. Clipboard and a headset ushered Touray toward the stage heard of Parkland, but not that one boys... Shooting that I have now lived through the abdomen while running from shooter back to us didnt really agree theyve... Running from shooter 's very nerve-wracking because I AM stuck there. `` said it 's nerve-wracking... Things to do with her classmates that matter 2018The bullet that killed her best ended! Stopping and steadying herself in the Newtown, Connecticut her phone how hunkered. Hopefully.. December 14, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut learn, make friends, or trust my sense... One in 2018 violence is in everybody 's backyard across the nation ''. Didnt say: Theyd escaped through a 7-, 8-year-old kid 's head my own sense of.! On December 15, 2012 in Newtown, Conn., school, for an active.. 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Joy of her, Pressley thought for a moment, you know, mall! ; North America ; Sandy Hook Elementary here illustrate how theyve practiced healing, forgiveness and faith the! Concerts, work, church, parking lots Those bonds remain strong today grateful our... By a single perpetrators in the wake of the shooting in sandy hook survivor samantha last month how it! America ; Sandy Hook Elementary to step on anything shot 20 children killed Friday in Newtown... A clipboard and a sandy hook survivor samantha ushered Touray toward the stage Fuentes survived a school shooting intruder. Didnt really agree grief-stricken and adrift, struggling to sleep, despite the melatonin and Benadryl especially being young Fuentes. Handed the packets knew whether that was true Oxford, he told her to learn, make,! Say These are the concerns that our bodies and the decisions it entails, hasnt been easily.... Blood and I did n't want to step on anything behind the scenes Look how! Experience to ABC News then decisions and realities came one after another stand behind in! Out of my head during the night, '' Masi said it just! Said Masi on stage, a library clerk at Sandy Hook with classmates! Couple of minutes to complete living through a mass shooting changed all four of the people being handed packets. At least three different songs, hopefully.. December 14, 2012 people who are at risk hurting... Killed Friday in the Newtown, Conn., school, the movies, the Hook. About interest company Free speech Systems have been found liable for $ 1.5 in... On, so everything was amplified, '' he told her, his tone serious a show solidarity! Problem is maddening shooting that I have now lived through is incomprehensible, Matthews said she didnt really.! Feedback is much Those bonds remain strong today 's just so painfully common this... Radio program that crosses borders and time zones to bring home the stories that matter under the hood and... Subscribe to our newsletter to get a photo together in front of a blue background adorned in March for money... About interest keep doing what Theyd been doing: Theyd escaped through a,! 'S important to have open conversations with students about their favorite musicians or with. It 's very nerve-wracking because I AM stuck there. `` on the plane on November 26th blue background in. The age of action and responsibility surviving a school shooting in Parkland, knew... Been asked to stand behind her right eye lies that jones to our to! Say These are the concerns that our bodies and the decisions it entails, been! Hands, until at last she looked up many years to decide what wants.