Someone started yelling, and then people started ducking, and so we started running, because we thought somebody was trying to kill us.. A few minutes later, a man with a clipboard and a headset ushered Touray toward the stage. On some nights, she wakes up sweating, thrashing, screaming. And that should never run through a 7-, 8-year-old kid's head. It was easier when the horrified mind took control of the body. Jones and his company Free Speech Systems have been found liable for $1.5 billion in two defamation trials over lies that Jones . That bipartisan legislation included instituting mandatory background checks and banning the sale of high-capacity magazines. But Murphy urged Fuentes, Touray and the other activists to keep doing what theyd been doing. Ultimately, music therapy would prove to be the most effective. One MSU freshman, whose name has not been released, survived the Oxford High School shooting in 2021. Solomon went on to say to ABC News: "What did she see in there? "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. appreciated. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. "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. 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. Then Touray ascended with the rest of the activists, stopping and steadying herself in the middle of the stage. 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. I thought we could change things and make it so that things like what happened at Oxford dont happen anymore. 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. She was represented by a speaking agency and, before the pandemic, traveled a couple times a month to speak at colleges and nonprofits. She suffers from tinnitus in her ears and could eventually go blind in one eye. I cant imagine the courage it will take for her to walk in that school and teach and breathe life into children. He said the young girl described the shooter to her mom in a way that only a young child can. I need help, Touray told her, tears trickling down the side of her nose. We teach conflict resolution by talking out problems. Im not. I am 21 years old, and this is the second mass shooting that I have now lived through, Jackie Matthews said in an emotional TikTok video shared early Tuesday. 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. Shed just graduated from Michigans Oxford High, where four students were killed in November, including one of Tourays closest friends. All rights reserved. All of them are speaking publicly for the first time. And also, dont lose hope.. Sept. 7, 2022, at 7:03 a.m. Raised With Trauma, Sandy Hook Survivors Send Hope to Uvalde. But it was the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, in May which killed 19 students and two teachers that moved her to take action. Emma NeesRockford, Washington 2017Shot through the abdomen while running from shooter. Theres training for a wild animal in the school, for high wind, for an active shooter. He was just one survivor from one shooting. In the PSA, Eastmond honors Nick by holding up his photo. Living through a mass shooting changed all four of the students. You need to.. Just moved here, imagine that. She and her two . At the time, Fuentes thought she was lucky. The media center director is a close friend of Mindy and mine, and they were the very last group to exit the . Samantha Fuentes, an 18-year-old senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who was shot in both legs and face, spoke at the March for Our Lives rally. "I was just thinking about all the families that are in their houses right now, telling their children that their siblings and that their friends and their classmates are gone," Maggie, another student, told Raddatz. Out of respect for their privacy, ABC News is not using the survivors' last names. 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. They're also on TikTok making videos, as many of today's teenagers do, and some of them are talking . document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. "I have issues with mobility and getting around. "I don't know that I would have the type of faith that they have if the same thing happened to me.". 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. Just calm down. So, it's not easy at all, especially being young. It has to happen in days, not weeks.. To Fuentes, being right didnt matter much, not anymore. These subsequent months and years are the more difficult phase, the fraught part two. My daughter has many years to decide what she wants to. 2023 Cable News Network. Now a freshman at Siena College, Bisset has organized a remembrance at t 16-year-old snowboarder lands history-making trick at world championships, Co-workers win $50K lotto jackpot together: 'I'll never forget it', The Divine Nine: The history and impact of Black Greek letter organizations, Digital Deals & Steals celebrating women-owned businesses. Like so many others who survived the shooting, she was also plagued with anxiety. A woman walks a child toward the Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 15, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. Katie Bisset was a third grader huddled in the corner of her classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. God, why am I still crying? Touray asked, embarrassed, as she followed the group toward a waiting area near the stairs. Crowding into the tent behind her were a half-dozen teenagers from Sandy Hook, weeping and embracing and hyperventilating. 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. 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. Touray and Fuentes had just made it through security at the Hart Senate Office Building, passing inside a metal detector monitored by three armed guards, when a roller on the X-ray machine came loose, slamming against the tile floor. Nine families and one survivor of the Sandy Hook shooting sued Remington in 2015, accusing them of marketing the AR-15 to troubled individuals even though the weapon has "little utility for . In so many ways, Mrs. Clements brought my daughter back to us. Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. Annie Reneau. As a child, she rarely paid attention to the news and was only allowed to watch PBS Kids on weekdays. Were a traumatized nation. Four months after Sandy Hook, Connecticut passed sweeping state legislation on gun control. Student Geneva Cunningham was in fourth grade at the time of the shooting. For more on Nicole Melchionno, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day. These subsequent months and years are the more difficult phase, the fraught part two. November 30th is the day that haunts me.. I remember looking at my teacher's face, and her shock. The House was just hours away from voting for sweeping new gun legislation that many believed had no chance of passing in the Senate. \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. We wait in terror fearing for our lives until the gunfire comes to an end.. Afterward, Hogg sat next to her. Sunday Morning. Now a young woman holding a sign that said Pro-Life Is Gun Laws walked up to her and stared. On Wednesday, police pulled a body from that river, and on Monday, the Schenectady police confirmed the body to be that of Humphrey. 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. Matthews is not the only MSU survivor faced with the aftermath of their second school massacre. 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. Touray, who plans to study anthropology at North Carolina A&T State University, considered herself a courier of a message that her schoolmates would never get the chance to deliver. CLICK HERE to read about the 'hero teacher,' the principal and 20 children who lost their lives. Yesterday (Feb. 13), 43-year-old Anthony McRae killed three and injured . 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. "There was glass and obviously blood and I didn't want to step on anything. It wasnt as if I immediately knew that everything was going to work out. One moment in particular -- too graphic for words -- has stuck with Jackie, who was a second grader at the time. Im freaking out, Touray said, leaning on her knees. 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 case was watched closely by gun control advocates, gun rights supporters and manufacturers, because of its potential to provide . Of 16 children in the classroom, the unidentified girl was the only survivor. "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. 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. The fact that this is the second mass shooting that I have now lived through is incomprehensible, Matthews said. No person should ever endure what you have endured, even once, another wrote. "I couldn't get the sounds out of my head during the night," he told ABC News. They could hold hands. Its just a cowinkidence. 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 said. The 21-year-old was in 6th grade when the shooting happened at Sandy Hook in 2012 and is currently majoring in international law at MSU. Touray had just started seeing a therapist, because fear had changed who she was, too. CLICK HERE for full coverage of the tragedy at the elementary school. "I have to figure out where I am and how to get out. 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. He spoke out against banning girls education. 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. Jacob was in the library at the time and locked 19 students in a closet to keep them safe. People who are at risk of hurting themselves or others often show warning signs before an act of violence takes place. Touray paced behind the stage, her forehead beading with sweat. Sign up for PEOPLE's free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases. Fuentes was studying film at Hunter College in New York and worked at a jewelry wholesaler in Manhattan, but activism had long felt like her real job. Registered 501(c)(3). And there were many experts. "I think as well as you can expect them to," he said of how the girl's mother and father are handling the trauma. 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. EIN: 46-1657101. There was no gun, but word had come too late for the survivors from Parkland and Sandy Hook and Oxford gathered behind the stage. Touray didnt like saying so little during the meetings with lawmakers, so she laid in bed trying to come up with a good question. 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. 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. 28 Feb 2023 17:55:53 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. 1 min read. Carlitos RodriguezParkland, Florida 2018Barricaded himself behind a door. She started trembling. 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. She stepped away from the microphone, relieved, until Rabbi Jonah Pesner, who was up next, took Tourays hands in his and led her back onto the stage. We sit in the back of the room, she remembered. Now on the cusp of adulthood, the . And there were many experts. Shed gone to funeral after funeral, staring into open caskets at swollen faces that looked nothing like the kids she knew. A bullet remains in his heart. Katy Perry. "Ten years and two months ago, I survived the Sandy . Jackie Matthews was in the sixth grade in Newtown, Connecticut, when a 20-year-old assailant shot and killed 26 students and faculty members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. Within hours of surviving one of the worst mass shootings this country has ever seen, we had no choice but to put aside our own grief and trauma to take care of those around us. Sitting toward the front of the room, she worried that if the gunman came into her classroom, that she would be one of the first to be shot. Remembering the Sandy Hook Shooting Victims 5 Years Later. Gomes, the Sandy Hook survivor, told Touray she would stand next to her. What Touray didnt say: Theyd escaped through a window and ran. In the end, beyond family, it was the love of Mrs. Clements, a teacher, that softened my daughters heart and opened her mind. Jackie Matthews, a 21-year-old senior at MSU and a Sandy Hook survivor, is one such student. So I did, I did open my eyes," she 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. On May 24, a gunman killed 19 students and two teachers at . Matthews moving message was later reposted on Twitter, by Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts, where it drew thousands of retweets and comments. Alissa is the co-founder of. The teens and young adults in the video, it turns out, are survivors of some of the worst school shootings in the nation's history, who have experienced varying degrees of physical . Im grateful to those who listen. She refuses to let it move on. SCHENECTADY, NY - 14-year-old Samantha Humphrey was reported missing on November 26th. On the TV outside Murphys office, broken families from Uvalde and a mass shooting in Buffalo were testifying in front of a congressional committee. Touray hadnt thought much about school shootings before her own. Aalayah EastmondParkland, Florida 2018Hid under body of classmate to survive a shooting. Im sorry that youre part of the club that none of us want to be part of, he said. We can no longer be complacent.. THE most traumatic day of Kaitlin's life left 28 people dead, including children. But this year, she has decided she wants to be a teacher at Sandy Hook School. "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. Sandy Hook school shooting survivors are growing up and telling us what they've experienced. The joy of her conquering her greatest fear, is beyond my adult comprehension. "You can't expect a kid to sit in a classroom and focus and pay attention when they're concerned about their safety," Masi added. Youre okay, Gomes said. It was easier not to have any decisions to make. Survivors of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting send a message about hope, pain and grief to the children of Uvalde, Texas. Her mother encouraged her to speak up, so she did. '", "It was very traumatic for me, because there was no comfort whatsoever," she said. Educators teach peace and nonviolence. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 6203604. 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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. Mary Ann Jacob, a library clerk at Sandy Hook Elementary, also detailed her experience to ABC 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. Sherlach, Sandy Hook Elementary's school psychologist, was with Hochsprung when they heard a "pop, pop, pop" sound around 9:30 a.m., a parent who was with both women . Hear how their teenage years were impacted by the trauma of surviving a school shooting. When I was 9 and 10, I tried to forget it all. With tears and blood streaming from her eyes, she had watched two of her friends die. Published Dec 3, 2021. Nicole Melchionno survived the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and doesn't want any other child . SURVIVING SANDY HOOK: 'I can't give you proof except for my trauma' Ashley survived the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 26 people d. (Skyhorse, 2019), provide intimate accounts of the transformative nature of trauma in the aftermath of a school shooting. Fuentes had spent the day exchanging hugs and jokes and silly memories with friends from Parkland she hadnt seen in months. Susie Ehrens daughter witnessed the shooting while in the classroom of Victoria Leigh Soto, who died trying to protect her students. By DAVE COLLINS and PAT EATON-ROBB. 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. "These are preventable and there's ways to intervene.". I found that moment in the darkest time. In so many ways, Mrs. Clements brought my daughter back to us. December 7, 2014 / 9:39 AM / CBS News. By Kaitlin Lewis On 12/7/22 at 11:33 PM EST. Her sister was killed at Oxford High. When she was 14 years old, Gabby Petito starred in a music video titled "Irreplaceable" to help spread awareness about violence against children after the Sandy Hook massacre. Touray chewed on her bottom lip. Mary Ann Jacob was working in the library as the shooting unfolded. 1. It shouldn't run through anybody's head.". Running from shooter students and two teachers at would stand next to.... Two months ago, I did n't want to step on anything & # ;. Your inbox every weekday morning because there was glass and obviously blood and I did n't want be... A sign that said Pro-Life is gun Laws walked up to her in. Just started seeing a therapist, because of its potential sandy hook survivor samantha provide of... Your inbox every weekday morning things and make it so that things like happened..., Florida 2018Barricaded himself behind a door killed 19 students in a closet to keep them safe Terms Service! 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