How difficult the aftermath is, and the decisions it entails, hasnt been easily understood. Describe forgiveness, but dont prescribe forgiveness. Victoria Soto , age 27 Victoria Soto. As the kids were exiting their school, they were told to put their hands on the shoulders of the student in front of them and to close their eyes as they walked. 05.24.22. 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. Nobody was in danger. Now I want to remember, because Im at the age of action and responsibility. 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. Like the other survivors, Andrew called for gun reform -- an issue that remains intensely polarizing in Congress, where Republicans are reluctant to take up legislation they argue restricts the Second Amendment. So many are willing to share their stories with those who have and will suffer as we have. As a child, she rarely paid attention to the news and was only allowed to watch PBS Kids on weekdays. My daughter has many years to decide what she wants to do with her life. Ten years ago, Nicole was only 7 and in second grade when a 20-year-old gunman armed with an AR-15 assault rifle, two semi-automatic handguns and an endless supply of ammunition blasted his way into the cozy school through the plate-glass window next to the locked front door. Of 16 children in the classroom, the unidentified girl was the only survivor. But Murphy urged Fuentes, Touray and the other activists to keep doing what theyd been doing. Now on the cusp of adulthood, the . In the end, beyond family, it was the love of Mrs. Clements, a teacher, that softened my daughters heart and opened her mind. But being in big crowds and "not knowing if someone has a gun can re-trigger me at times," she says. 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. Like others who lived through the unspeakable horrors of that day, she remains scarred from the trauma she endured. 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 . We teach conflict resolution by talking out problems. Touray had talked about lipstick options with Parkland survivor X Gonzlez and danced to nearly every beat booming through the towering overhead speakers. Living through two is utterly incomprehensible. I think Im going to throw up, Touray said, rushing into a white tent nearby. Fuentes could imagine it, though. "I couldn't close my eyes without reliving it.". So I did, I did open my eyes," she said. Browning, a March for Our Lives policy associate, skimmed through the pages of the packet, detailing all the items they wanted Touray and the others to pitch to lawmakers: universal background checks for gun purchasers, the Protecting Our Kids Act, an assault weapons ban. 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. November 30th is the day that haunts me.. At the end of her speech on March 24, 2018, she led the crowd in singing happy birthday to Nicholas Dworet, one of the two friends whod died in her classroom. Those bonds remain strong today. This is my song, shed said to at least three different songs. The school shooting survivors had come from all over the country, each of them hoping that this time would be different. "Let's bring it into the light and say these are the concerns that our kids are having," said Masi. 1 of 3. It's been 10 years since 20 children and six adults were killed in a tragic mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newton, Connecticut, on Dec. 14, 2012, per CNN.. Nicole Melchionno, a 17-year-old Sandy Hook survivor, doesn't want any other children to suffer through the same tragedy she experienced during second grade. My heart goes out to all the families and the friends of the Michigan State shooting, she continued. I think, as a collective, were all very tired, she said, between drags on a vape pen. Of the 20 children killed Friday in the Newtown, Conn., school, eight were boys and 12 were girls. Since then, she has spoken publicly at news conferences in Connecticut and at rallies in D.C. She's also traveled several times to the nation's capital, including in July to celebrate the historic June 24 signing of the Bipartisan Gun Bill on the White House lawn. *** These videos contain sensitive content related to gun violence that may be triggering for some viewers. Discovery Company. Afterward, Hogg sat next to her. Calm down, her mother said, again and again. Today, Sandy Hook Promise -- a nonprofit organization led by several family members whose loved ones were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012 -- released a video of survivors of school shootings reciting lyrics from Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" to show others that for victims of school shootings, the teenage dream is not . Now Fuentes, 22, had come back for a second march, but shed long ago shed the naive hope of those early days. "Somehow, in that moment, by God's grace, [she] was able to act as she was already deceased," he said. Re: Photo of sole survivor, Samantha Hatcher - Sandy Hook. December 7, 2014 / 9:39 AM / CBS News. 2. Theres no training for navigating the aftermath of a shooting. There was no gun, but word had come too late for the survivors from Parkland and Sandy Hook and Oxford gathered behind the stage. But this year, as students return back to school, the nonprofit's leaders said it was important to open up a conversation about how school shootings impact the lives of survivors. 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. "The truth is that gun violence is in everybody's backyard across the nation," Fuentes said. It was why Fuentes tried to keep her back to the wall whenever possible, scanning for threats. "I was scared that I was going to die.". 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. The mission of Sandy Hook Promise is to educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes, and communities. Mia Page-TrettaSanta Clarita, California 2019Shot in the stomach. Subscribe to our newsletter to get updates on gun violence prevention. What Touray didnt say: Theyd escaped through a window and ran. The girl, a 6-year-old whose name is not being released for privacy reasons, was the first student to emerge from the lockdown at Sandy Hook, Solomon said. She has learned to manage her anxiety, which has lessened over the years. A brave six-year-old became the sole survivor of her first grade class at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. because she played dead as shooter Adam Lanza went on his rampage. The tragic impact of a school shooting affects the loved ones of those who were killed and survivors, like those in the Teenage Dream PSA, carry mental and emotional wounds beyond the physical scars that never truly heal. We've received your submission. 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. Katie Bisset was a third grader huddled in the corner of her classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. No person should ever endure what you have endured, even once, another wrote. Student Geneva Cunningham was in fourth grade at the time of the shooting. On the TV outside Murphys office, broken families from Uvalde and a mass shooting in Buffalo were testifying in front of a congressional committee. 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. A group of survivors, including Fuentes and Touray, had been asked to stand behind her in a show of solidarity. The next Tate. . Now Touray and Fuentes decided to get a photo together in front of a blue background adorned in March for Our Lives logos. Are you Zoe? Alexa Browning asked Zoe Touray, who was standing alone by the door, nervously fiddling with a cellphone wrapped in a Mickey Mouse case. Standing just outside the conference room, she watched Browning explain their schedule to Touray, who had been recruited to help lobby members of Congress and give a speech at an event that afternoon. I had to do something to be part of the solution. But at the same time, it felt almost impossible for that to actually happen. He said the young girl described the shooter to her mom in a way that only a young child can. Hear how their teenage years were impacted by the trauma of surviving a school shooting. ", More determined than ever to make meaningful change, she says, "I'm trying to turn my anxiety and frustration into purpose by working on this issue.". In 2018, when she was in eighth grade, she started to become involved in gun violence prevention. The staff was largely left to fend for themselves in those early months, with little or no mental health support. Aalayah Eastmond, who also survived the Parkland shooting and participated in the PSA, told "GMA" that she struggles each day with survivor's guilt after her friend, Nicholas Dworet, sacrificed his life to save hers. "It just really broke me to know that after 10 years of everyone giving us their thoughts and prayers, after 10 years of everyone saying, 'Enough is enough,' and, 'Never again after Sandy Hook' -- it happened again.". I continue to teach at another school in Newtown, trying to build a generation of empathetic problem solvers. Now Im floating. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. Sandy Hook survivor Isaiah Mrquez-Greene writes "Note To Self" 06:30 Wednesday marks 10 years since a mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killed 26 people . But the fact that it was the exact same thing completely re-triggered me and my anxiety.". Her husband, Bill Sherlach, is also part of Sandy Hook Promise, and has spoken out about the importance of the lawsuit he joined against an AR-15 manufacturer. Detroit Free Press. 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. And their concerns will be taken seriously and they'll get the support they need.". "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. Now more than ever, its essential to know the signs.. Sandy Hook Promise 2023 Seeing young new activists like Touray was both refreshing and dispiriting, because they were joining a movement that hadnt been able to end the crisis. Annie Reneau. . We can no longer allow this to happen. Living through a mass shooting changed all four of the students. Among the most memorable to appear was Sam Fuentes, then a senior at Douglas who a month earlier had been shot in the leg and struck in the face with shrapnel. I want them with me up there, Touray said, after someone suggested that she change clothes. In the PSA, Eastmond honors Nick by holding up his photo. We can no longer be complacent." 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. I also struggled to learn, make friends, or trust my own sense of reality. Just moved here, imagine that. Now, at the hotel, Fuentes headed off to change into her blue March for Our Lives T-shirt, her black folder of talking points still unopened, and Touray found a quiet space on the other side of the room where she could study all of them, hoping to come up with a question that would somehow make a difference. THE most traumatic day of Kaitlin's life left 28 people dead, including children. "The mom told me, and I thought this was very insightful, that she was suffering from what she felt was survivor's guilt because so many of her friends no longer have their children but [her mom] has hers," the pastor said. As Nicole kept hearing about the increasing number of school shootings that kept taking place after Sandy Hook, she decided to turn tragedy into triumph by fighting to end gun violence. One of the most iconic photographs captured in the aftermath of the deadly shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School is being misused in Facebook memes about misogyny and . 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 . Pastor Jim Solomon told ABC News:"She ran out of the school building covered from head to toe with blood and the first thing she said to her mom was, 'Mommy, I'm OK but all my friends are dead. Meaningful progress, she knew this time, would not come easy, if ever. "I was in my second-grade classroom. We can no longer allow this to happen. This time was about rage, as one March for Our Lives staffer put it, but thats not what Fuentes and Touray were feeling. All of them are speaking publicly for the first time. The sun rises over Newtown, Conn., Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. The fact that this is the second mass shooting that I have now lived through is incomprehensible, Matthews said. On May 24, a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at . Americans are afraid to go to school, the movies, the mall, concerts, work, church, parking lots. PRX is a 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS: #263347402. Subscribe to Must Reads. As students return to school this fall, Masi shared some tips to help students feel safer this school year. We knew it wasn't a drill," Jackie recalled. When I was 9 and 10, I tried to forget it all. CLICK HERE to read about the 'hero teacher,' the principal and 20 children who lost their lives. He was just one survivor from one shooting. "I couldn't get the sounds out of my head during the night," he told ABC News. She needed to take breaks. I was drowning. Isabelle LaymanceSanta Fe, Texas 2018Hid in closet with eight classmates. 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. The year after the shooting, we needed to be sure each child was placed with the right second-grade teacher. "She ran out of the school building covered from head to toe with blood and the first thing she said to her mom was, 'Mommy, I'm OK but all my friends are dead,'" Pastor Jim Solomon told ABC News' Lara Spencer this weekend. In previous years, Sandy Hook Promise released PSAs teaching people about gun violence prevention and how school shootings are preventable. There had to be a way forward, a way to break the political stalemate that left Fuentes sitting on a bench, giving the damaged nerves in her leg a chance to recover. ''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. 893 Words4 Pages. 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 . She described heading to class after lunch and her friends hearing a sound that reminded them of balloons popping. You're never prepared for something like this. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 6203604. 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. 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