Local moms push for change after deadly Ga. school shooting
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AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) - Wednesday’s deadly shooting is hitting very close to home for some here in Augusta.
No matter where you are located, it’s something that weighs heavy for every parent.
It’s chilling to look at and it’s something most never expect to happen.
“My daughter called me, she was pretty upset,” said Aimee Hall. “She was almost hysterically crying and just said that the school that my sister works at, that’s where the active shooting had taken place.”
Those are words no sister, brother, mother, father or anyone wants to hear.
What we know about the victims of Apalachee High shooting
Two 14-year-old students, Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, were killed. Teachers Christina Irimie, 53, and Richard Aspinwall, 39, also died.
“My initial text to her was, ‘Are you safe?’ Her response back was ‘I love you’. I mean, I had no idea it was like one of those things. I ran out of a meeting here at my job and I’m like, do I go? Do I stay? Like I just needed to hear that she was okay. Then, even after I hear that she’s okay, what does that really mean?” said Hall.
To answer that question, Hall says, “She was like, you just go, you don’t expect this. You expect just to get up in your day, be as normal as, you know, it is always, so for that to happen.”
Ellie Benson with Moms Demand Action says it’s something that hits close for every parent.
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“I’m just checking on my own kids, even though it’s not in the same place, because it happens everywhere,” said Benson. “And then my reaction after that is, okay, what, what do we do now? Like where do we go from here? And how can we help.”
Benson says scenes like this motivate her to create change.
“I am not a gun violence survivor. I cannot fathom what that feels like. Even though I work with gun violence survivors, it is a level of pain that is unimaginable,” said Benson.
Benson says as a mom, having these conversations with her own kids is not easy.
Even outgunned, Apalachee officers stopped school shooter
The accused Apalachee High School shooter used an AR-15 style semi-automatic rifle, according to police, but the school resource officers had only handguns.
“We didn’t talk about it until later that night and then she told me, ‘It’s messed up. Why does this have to happen all the time?’” said Benson.
Benson says if you would like to get involved with Moms Demand Action, you can text “ready” to 64433, and they’ll get in with you.
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