Mom Who Survived School Shooting Coaches Son Through Oregon Attack
A mother who experienced a school shooting over two decades ago found herself guiding her son through a similar tragedy.
A mother who survived a school shooting more than 20 years ago found herself coaching her son through the same trauma when a gunman stormed an Oregon elementary school on Thursday. Michelle, who withheld her last name, sent a series of text messages to her son, assuring him and his brother of their safety and repeatedly expressing her love.
"I was just in shock. I was like, how can this happen? How can lightning strike twice?" Michelle told CNN. "How can I go through this and then my children go through this?"
Her fifth-grade son contacted her via his Apple Watch one minute after authorities were alerted to the shooting at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon. The gunman, identified as 16-year-old John J. Griffin II, had just fired his first shot outside the school. The boy’s initial text to his mother was a hurried "shooter at school."
Michelle responded with instructions to remain quiet and avoid making calls. "Baby I love you don’t call anyone please be as quiet as possible," she texted. "If you can safely, text me, that’s OK just don’t make any calls. The police are going to help you. I love you so much. Do you know anything that’s going on?"
An hour later, she continued to offer comfort, writing, "Everything is going to be okay. This happened to me too, and I am okay." This was the first time she had disclosed her own experience with gun violence to her children, she told CNN.
Michelle was a freshman at Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, California, in March 2001 when a student opened fire. In that incident, three students and two teachers were wounded, but no one was killed.
She described living with the trauma of the 2001 shooting, including experiencing panic attacks and a constant need to identify exits in public spaces. She also felt a persistent anxiety when her sons left for school each day.
"Every single time I dropped them off, and I would see them walk in the front doors, I would get a pit in my stomach thinking, ‘I hope I see him again,’" she said, crying. "It’s probably because of the trauma I went through."
Michelle's sons survived the Thursday shooting. However, four people were killed: three students aged 5, 8, and 11, and their teacher, 25-year-old Megan Lambert. A teacher initially confronted the gunman before a parent, Kaylub Giamanco, entered the classroom and fatally shot Griffin.
Investigators are still working to determine a motive for the attack. Sources indicated that Griffin had made extensive preparations. His weapon had been legally purchased by his mother around his August birthday, according to sources.