appreciated. In 2018, when she was in eighth grade, she started to become involved in gun violence prevention. He said the young girl described the shooter to her mom in a way that only a young child can. 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. 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. "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. "I think as well as you can expect them to," he said of how the girl's mother and father are handling the trauma. SURVIVOR INTERVIEWS Each survivor was interviewed and discussed how their lives and their teenage dream changed after surviving a school shooting. 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. Im freaking out, Touray said, leaning on her knees. Nine years ago, Walczak was at school when one of his classmates opened fire at him and three of his friends. Now on the cusp of adulthood, the . "I couldn't close my eyes without reliving it.". 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 . 1 of 3. Design by Irfan Uraizee. Annie Reneau. The residents of an idyllic Connecticut town were reeling in horror from the massacre of 20 small children and six adults in one of the worst school shootings in US history. ABC News sat down with four students who lived through the 2012 mass shooting. Victoria Soto , age 27 Victoria Soto. to chip away at our deplorable statistics. 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. 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. "That's a thought that probably does not go away," Raddatz told her. We all loved this boy so much. 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. (Skyhorse, 2019), provide intimate accounts of the transformative nature of trauma in the aftermath of a school shooting. Matthews moving message was later reposted on Twitter, by Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts, where it drew thousands of retweets and comments. She didnt really know about any of those things. 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. After murdering his mother at their home, Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School before taking his own life. In the end, beyond family, it was the love of Mrs. Clements, a teacher, that softened my daughters heart and opened her mind. As a child, she rarely paid attention to the news and was only allowed to watch PBS Kids on weekdays. It needs to be legislation, it needs to be action. Everything was fine. 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. 2023 ABC News Internet Ventures. 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. What Touray didnt say: Theyd escaped through a window and ran. Standing in front of her, Pressley thought for a moment. For more on Nicole Melchionno, listen below to our daily podcast PEOPLE Every Day. Shed gone to funeral after funeral, staring into open caskets at swollen faces that looked nothing like the kids she knew. Noah Orona still had not cried. "The truth is that gun violence is in everybody's backyard across the nation," Fuentes said. "I know our generation has not been complacent with this issue. 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. And their concerns will be taken seriously and they'll get the support they need.". "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. Touray rejoined Fuentes, who put her hand on Tourays shoulder. U.S. Mass shootings Gun reform Sandy Hook Gun Violence. 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. 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 . 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. Did you encounter any technical issues? Some of the earliest help offered was from surviving staff members from Columbine who wanted to come and support us. She described heading to class after lunch and her friends hearing a sound that reminded them of balloons popping. 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. He had 1.2 million Twitter followers. And for Andrew, it meant nightmares in the immediate months after. 2 min read. A staffer guided her to a bench beneath the 51-foot-tall black steel sculpture in the atrium of the Hart Senate Office Building, where Hogg was finishing up a photo shoot for an upcoming magazine profile. Save them before its too late.. We can no longer allow this to happen. Americans are afraid to go to school, the movies, the mall, concerts, work, church, parking lots. Howd the interviews go? Fuentes asked Touray, the two of them standing together in a gated VIP section next to the March for Our Lives stage, where Hogg was midway through his speech. I suffer from PTSD, depression, anxiety, insomnia. Yes, the 18-year-old answered, smiling and extending her hand. We can no . Now a freshman at Siena College, Bisset has organized a remembrance at t Those bonds remain strong today. *** These videos contain sensitive content related to gun violence that may be triggering for some viewers. We subsequently also met with members of the Amish community who had suffered their own tragedy about five years earlier. As a staff and individually, we navigated the push and pull of how to honor the dead, where to spend your time, how to volunteer, when to make your donations, how to manage your emotional capacity, when to care for yourself. Alissa Parker is the mother of Emilie Parker, who was murdered in the Sandy Hook shooting. And when she cried and told Abbey she missed Ms. Soto Mrs. Clements simply held her and said, I do too.. Were a traumatized nation. She stood at the lectern and glanced down at the speech on her phone. September 7, 2022. After the shooting, then-President Barack Obama called on Congress to enact federal gun control. Her daughter was also in the building at the time of the shooting. At least three of her schoolmates have died by suicide since the slaughter that left 17 dead inside Stoneman. Nolan BrandySan Bernadino, California 2017The bullet broke two of his ribs and lacerated portions of his kidney and liver. 2023 Cable News Network. "When we ran to our cubbies to hide, I remember thinking, you know, I should hide to the back of the classroom, to the other side, so that I don't get shot. 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 what it used to be. 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. 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. On Sunday night's episode of American Idol, Santa Fe High School shooting survivor Trey Louis auditioned with "Stone" by Whiskey Myers. She has wisdom beyond her years.". She has wisdom beyond her years, for sure.". Its not okay. She was represented by a speaking agency and, before the pandemic, traveled a couple times a month to speak at colleges and nonprofits. NEWTOWN, Conn. 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. 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. Thats somehow part of why Im here. She needed to take breaks. By Pamela Rosenthal. But I work two full-time jobs to try to change that. It was one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. The staff was largely left to fend for themselves in those early months, with little or no mental health support. 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. At least youre doing something about it, she said. David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 Parkland, Fla. high school shooting and Craig Nason, a survivor of the 1999 Columbine massacre, . I think Im going to throw up, Touray said, rushing into a white tent nearby. Educators teach peace and nonviolence. We can no longer allow this to happen. 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. You need to.. His older brother Nick was killed. The survivors here illustrate how theyve practiced healing, forgiveness and faith in the wake of the Sandy Hook shooting. Nick Walczak, a survivor of the 2012 mass shooting at Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio, said he now thinks three steps ahead wherever he goes in case he's caught in another shooting. She had 18. More. The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society named her one of its students of the year in March for raising money and awareness for the disease. I just got here and theres so many people and now Im speaking, she wrote in another text, before her mom called. But none of the people being handed the packets knew whether that was true. "My hope is that people can make gun violence prevention a priority in their lives again, because people don't realize that it's folks like you and I, everyday people who went around thinking they wouldn't be affected by something like this.". November 29th was the last good day, she said. 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