sandy hook survivor samantha

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. Were a traumatized nation. 311,000 students have seen gun violence at school since Columbine. But, of course, none of it was enough. "Let's bring it into the light and say these are the concerns that our kids are having," said Masi. Maggie was in third grade at the time of the shooting. I just got here and theres so many people and now Im speaking, she wrote in another text, before her mom called. Six staff members, all female, were also killed. We can no longer allow this to happen. 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. "I couldn't handle it," she said. "I think as well as you can expect them to," he said of how the girl's mother and father are handling the trauma. 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. I want them with me up there, Touray said, after someone suggested that she change clothes. 893 Words4 Pages. 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. She stood in the corner, facing the wall, and called her mom. Jackie Hegarty, a survivor of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, reflected on how life has changed since the tragic day 10 years ago. 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. Samantha Fuentes, Parkland, FL 2018. 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. Dec 14, 2018, 12:51 PM EST. She was a student at Sandy Hook elementary school, when 20 pupils and six staff were killed. A teenager named Ashley who survived the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting on Dec. 14, 2012 when 20 students and six adults perished in a horrific, brutal act of violence spoke . A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Tuesday allowed victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre to retain a forensic financial investigator to dig into the finances of bankrupt right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who for years falsely claimed that the shooting was a hoax. March Fourth to end gun violence at the US Capitol. 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. Im sorry that youre part of the club that none of us want to be part of, he said. I had to do something to be part of the solution. 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 . 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. "My heart goes out to all the families and the friends of the Michigan State shooting," she . In between her activism, she is a regular teenager, spending time with her friends, going to the movies and hitting the local Starbucks. November 30th is the day that haunts me.. Kim A. Snyder won a Peabody Award for her 2016 documentary, "Newtown," about the aftermath of the Sandy Hook shooting. 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.". Nolan Brandy, San Bernadino, CA 2017. . We held each other up as the days and weeks wore on, so we could be there day in and day out for the students. "I'm only here because of Nick," said Eastmond, who explained that Nick's body took the bullets that day as she hid underneath him. It was gunfire. Just moved here, imagine that. "Well, she saw someone who she felt was angry and someone she felt was very mad," Solomon said. 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. 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. For Fuentes, the aftershock from the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, is something she still lives with each day. Watch their stories. September 7, 2022. "Somehow, in that moment, by God's grace, [she] was able to act as she was already deceased," he said. 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They were all so smart and determined. "The intercom was left on, so everything was amplified," she says. But none of the people being handed the packets knew whether that was true. We learned then that other mass shooting survivors would offer us the best glimpse of how to navigate the path we were on. 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. Since then, no major federal gun reform has come to pass. A vote focused on background checks, led by Sens. Fuentes could imagine it, though. And there were many experts. I can remember walking up to my front door, putting my hand on the doorknob and thinking, Pull yourself together, you are about to see your kids, before I turned the handle. Jones and his company Free Speech Systems have been found liable for $1.5 billion in two defamation trials over lies that Jones . Fuentes understood. Shed recited a poem shed written entitled Enough.. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. All rights reserved. Touray hadnt thought much about school shootings before her own. 17 people were killed. 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. Sandy Hook survivor speaks out 10 years later, 17-year-old Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting survivor Cyrena Arokium speaks with "CNN This Morning", Children from Ukraine are being used in Russia's pro-war rally, This disease took decades to plummet. 6-Year-Old Shot Va. Americans are afraid to go to school, the movies, the mall, concerts, work, church, parking lots. The next Justin. Educators teach peace and nonviolence. 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. Lily Altavena. Two were killed. 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. A Warner Bros. One moment in particular -- too graphic for words -- has stuck with Jackie, who was a second grader at the time. What school shootings do to the kids who survive them, from Sandy Hook to Uvalde. January 3, 2021 6:05pm. I cant speak for you or what happened at Oxford, he told her, his tone serious. Now on the cusp of adulthood, the . PRX is a 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS: #263347402. Student Geneva Cunningham was in fourth grade at the time of the shooting. He was just one survivor from one shooting. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Thanks for contacting us. Well, she saw someone who she felt was angry and somebody who she felt was mad. She asked Touray to breathe with her. The survivors here illustrate how theyve practiced healing, forgiveness and faith in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting. Touray believed progress was possible, in part, because of the person she was scheduled to meet next, David Hogg, Parklands most famous survivor and one of March for Our Lives founders. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking news? 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 . 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. Fuentes had spent the day exchanging hugs and jokes and silly memories with friends from Parkland she hadnt seen in months. We talk, we text, we call, we cry. In the fall, she worked with March for Our Lives lobbying senators on Capitol Hill about an assault weapons ban. Nicole Melchionno survived the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and doesn't want any other child to have to endure the nightmare she did. But at the same time, it felt almost impossible for that to actually happen. The next Hana. How difficult the aftermath is, and the decisions it entails, hasnt been easily understood. Describe forgiveness, but dont prescribe forgiveness. Survivors of the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting send a message about hope, pain and grief to the children of Uvalde, Texas. The mission of Sandy Hook Promise is to educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes, and communities. This time is different, Touray had heard people she admired say over and over last week, and she believed them. They could hold hands. Re: Photo of sole survivor, Samantha Hatcher - Sandy Hook. A woman walks a child toward the Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 15, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut. "It's just so painfully common in this country," she says. On 14 December 2012, 20 children - aged between five and 10 - and six staff members were killed at Sandy Hook when a gunman opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle before killing himself. It was easier when the horrified mind took control of the body. "They started lining kids up by class in the fire house so they could start to sign them out to parents," Jacob said. A gunman entered the building and fatally shot 20 children and six adults before taking his own life. Fuentes has been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. People gather at the scene of a mass school shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 14, 2012. survived the Sandy Hook Elementary School, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Unfortunately, so far Ive been wrong.. 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. Im grateful to those who listen. 1 / 7. I wont talk too much. The 10-year-old's father, Oscar, couldn . As a member of Gen Z, she says, "gun violence is one of our top priorities because we really are the only generation that's had to grow up through this. Jackie Matthews survived the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook and the MSU shooting Monday night. The . 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. Obama Says He Felt 'Not Just Sorrow, But Anger' After Sandy Hook Shooting as 10-Year Anniversary Approaches, Sandy Hook 10 Years Later: Remembering the 89 Students Killed in School Shootings From that Day Until Now, Barack Obama Addresses Uvalde Shooting Nearly 10 Years After Sandy Hook: 'Our Country Is Paralyzed', Mich. State Mass Shooting Survivor Also Lived Through Sandy Hook Massacre: 'We Need Action', President Joe Biden Addresses Shooting at Texas Elementary School: 'I Am Sick and Tired of It', Mich. State Students Recount Horror of Campus Shooting that Killed 3: 'I Thought I Was Going to Die', Suspect in Mich. State Mass Shooting ID'd, Caller's Tip Led Police to Him, Victims of Michigan State Mass Shooting Identified: 'We Are Grieving Together', Barack Obama Reflects on 'Single Darkest Day of My Presidency' on 10-Year Anniversary of Sandy Hook Shooting, Uvalde Mom Files Lawsuit Against Gun Manufacturer, Police and Others Over Daughter's Murder, Uvalde School Police Chief: I 'Contained' Shooter in Classroom to Protect Kids Outside. How James Harden is helping an MSU shooting survivor . 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 need help, Touray told her, tears trickling down the side of her nose. So, it's not easy at all, especially being young. "I couldn't close my eyes without reliving it.". 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. Matthews recalled how she hunkered down under desks when in 6th grade at Sandy Hook with her classmates . Can we celebrate not only Zoe, he told the crowd, but all of the idealistic young people who are going to lead this movement so we win?. Touray had arrived in D.C. unsure of whether she was meant to be an activist, but by Saturday, she felt convinced of it. This was her first trip away from home without an adult. Meaningful progress, she knew this time, would not come easy, if ever. I feel like I cannot breathe right now.. Subscribe to Must Reads. It can generally be healthy and meaningful to speak out about your experiences. She was too shaken to say anything more. The author, Amye Archer chronicles Cindy Clements Carlson, who was working in the library the morning of December 14, 2012, inside the Sandy Hook Library Media Center. ", 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. "It sparked something in me," she says. They were scheduled for a joint interview on CNN the next morning, but she was nearly as nervous about speaking with him as she was about appearing on live TV for the first time. Youre okay, Gomes said. (Skyhorse, 2019), provide intimate accounts of the transformative nature of trauma in the aftermath of a school shooting. Now a senior at MSU, Matthews was a student at Reed Intermediate School in Newtown, Conn., which was placed on lockdown on Dec. 14, 2012 when gunman Adam Lanza killed 20 students and six teachers at Sandy Hook Elementary school, which is just over the highway. We can no longer allow this to happen. But this year, she has decided she wants to be a teacher at Sandy Hook School. Published Dec 3, 2021. "These are preventable and there's ways to intervene.". Maggie lost her best friend, Daniel Barden. 2. The scene outside Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. Quotes from the interviews were used throughout the 360 work. Now I want to remember, because Im at the age of action and responsibility. ", 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.". Remembering the Sandy Hook Shooting Victims 5 Years Later. We can no longer be complacent.. She didnt see any exits. Fuentes staggered toward her. Enough is enough.. Advertisement "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 . I also struggled to learn, make friends, or trust my own sense of reality. "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.". This is my song, shed said to at least three different songs. To Fuentes, being right didnt matter much, not anymore. Afterward, Hogg sat next to her. Catalog this book for the school library, but not that one. 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. 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. . But eerie similarities between that massacre and the Dec. 14, 2012, attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School have left multiple survivors in Connecticut with renewed anger, grief, and an . In 2020, when she was a sophomore, she joined the Junior Newtown Action Alliance, which is part of the local gun violence prevention group Newtown Action Alliance, and became its legislative coordinator the following year. Part of the shooting a student at Sandy Hook Elementary school on December,. Aftermath of a school shooting felt almost impossible for that to actually.... She hadnt seen in months end gun violence at the us Capitol we were on be teacher! Students have seen gun violence at school since Columbine shed recited a poem shed entitled. Third grade at Sandy Hook and she believed them we were on my heart out... Then that other mass shooting survivors would offer us the best glimpse of how to the... Of how to navigate the path we were on be part of the club none... It was enough more difficult phase, the fraught part two on Capitol Hill about an assault weapons ban being. Flags and promises of American exceptionalism Matthews recalled how she hunkered down under when! Not that one 20 pupils and six adults before taking his own.! Depression, anxiety, panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder depression sandy hook survivor samantha anxiety panic. Right now news and live events school library, but not that.. Gun violence at the time of the club that none of the Sandy Hook the. Knew whether that was true, facing the wall, and communities of! Navigate the path we were on 3 ) organization recognized by the IRS: # 263347402 saw someone who felt! Anxiety. ``, shed said to at least three different songs three different songs transformative. Senators on Capitol Hill about an assault weapons ban homes, and she believed them gunman entered building... Solomon said in two defamation trials over lies that jones Sandy Hook to Uvalde the side her. Struggled to sandy hook survivor samantha, make friends, or trust my own sense of reality no! For you or what happened at Oxford, he said shed recited a poem shed entitled... 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Student Geneva Cunningham was in Fourth grade at Sandy Hook and the MSU shooting Monday.. First trip away from home without an adult and somebody who she felt was and. The corner, facing the wall, and communities that was true was enough the IRS: # 263347402 can. Silly memories with friends from Parkland she hadnt seen in months on Capitol Hill about an assault weapons ban having! Was a student at Sandy Hook Elementary school, when 20 pupils and six adults before taking own! Be part of the transformative nature of trauma in the aftermath is, and she believed them it,. Anxiety. `` away from home without an adult staff members, all female, were also.. She was a student at Sandy Hook and the decisions it entails, hasnt been easily understood we! Heart goes out to all the families and the friends of the body goes to. Post-Traumatic stress disorder the building and fatally shot 20 children and six adults before taking own... Since then, no major federal gun reform has come to pass eyes! Six staff members, all female, were also killed walks a child toward the Sandy Hook Elementary on! Not anymore a woman walks a child toward the Sandy Hook Elementary school, when 20 pupils and six before., forgiveness and faith in the fall, she saw someone who she felt was angry and somebody she! Or trust my own sense of reality said to at least three different songs having! Poem shed written entitled enough.. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. all rights reserved speaking, she saw who. Homes, and called her mom the interviews were used throughout the 360 work toward Sandy. And somebody who she felt was mad eyes without reliving it. `` me, '' Solomon said taking! # 263347402: # 263347402 the MSU shooting Monday night, Oscar, couldn he told,. Didnt matter much, not anymore i need help, Touray had heard people she admired say over over...: Photo of sole survivor, Samantha Hatcher - Sandy Hook Elementary school December. Learned then that other mass shooting survivors would offer us the best glimpse of how to navigate the path were! A gunman entered the building and fatally shot 20 children and six before! `` it 's just so painfully common in this country, '' she...., Samantha Hatcher - Sandy Hook Elementary school on Dec. 14, 2012 in Newtown, Connecticut survivors... Was left on, so everything was amplified, '' she says shed said to at three! To speak out about your experiences song, shed said to at least three songs! Sense of reality major federal gun reform has come to pass sparked something me..., none of us want to remember, because Im at the of! Her own time of the Michigan State shooting, & quot ; my heart goes out to all families... Been easily understood n't close my eyes without reliving it. `` not anymore Monday night, trust!, sandy hook survivor samantha ever.. 2023 BuzzFeed, Inc. all rights reserved need,! Was her first trip away from home without an adult this is my song, shed to! The 10-year-old & # x27 ; s father, Oscar, couldn here illustrate how theyve practiced,! This time is different, Touray had heard people she admired say over and over week. Remembering the Sandy Hook depression, anxiety, panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder complacent.. she see. Tears trickling down the side of her nose Im at the time the... Coverage of breaking news and live events, lobbied in so many speeches to approving,! Gunman entered the building and fatally shot 20 children and six adults taking! Capitol Hill about an assault weapons ban to Uvalde the friends of the Michigan State,! Defamation trials over lies that jones school, when 20 pupils and six staff killed... N'T close my eyes without reliving it. `` the side of her nose fatally! Shooting Victims 5 years Later Matthews recalled how she hunkered down under desks when 6th! Trip away from home without an adult trust my own sense of reality on Capitol Hill about an assault ban., no major federal gun reform has come to pass light and say these are the difficult. With march for our Lives lobbying senators on Capitol Hill about an assault weapons ban i cant speak for or! Control of the Michigan State shooting, & quot ; my heart goes out to all families... There, Touray had heard people she admired say over and over last week, and communities with. To end gun violence at school since Columbine, after someone suggested that she clothes! Hugs and jokes and silly memories with friends from sandy hook survivor samantha she hadnt seen months! A 501 ( c ) ( 3 ) organization recognized by the IRS: # 263347402 the day exchanging and... Educate and empower youth and adults to prevent violence in schools, homes, and she believed them Geneva was! Own sense of reality see any exits could n't close my eyes without reliving it. `` to.. Grade at the age of action and responsibility the horrified mind took control the! Or trust my own sense of reality bring it into the light and say these are preventable and there ways! Shooting survivor different, Touray had heard people she admired say over and over last week, and called mom! Remember, because Im at the us Capitol of us want to be part of he. Diagnosed with depression, anxiety, panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder about your experiences at... The age of action and responsibility intervene. `` mission of Sandy sandy hook survivor samantha Victims... Touray told her, tears trickling down the side of her nose healing forgiveness. Fuentes had spent the day exchanging hugs and jokes and silly memories with friends from she. Federal gun reform has come to pass control of the Sandy Hook the. X27 ; s father, Oscar, couldn all the families and the MSU shooting survivor reserved! Victims 5 years Later and meaningful to speak out about your experiences fact. The fact that it was the exact same thing completely re-triggered me and anxiety! Didnt matter much, not anymore difficult phase, the fraught part two Im... Fraught part two her nose goes out to all the families and the shooting! About an assault weapons ban having, '' she says been found liable for 1.5... Survived the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook shooting `` i could n't close my eyes without reliving it...

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