Shooting on Campus - Virginia Tech Touches Home

This week's shooting on the Virginia Tech campus brought memories flooding back to me about the Thurston High School Shooting in Springfield, Oregon. Even though Virginia Tech is a college and is across the country from where I live, I know what these people are going through.

For several hours families of anyone on campus or in the response teams are on edge as they wait for any tidbit of news either on TV or by phone. While they are waiting, major news stations will descend on their town as they set up camp in front of the Virginia Tech campus and near the hospital to try to get that first bit of news coverage.

Although some may be flattered at the chance to speak on camera, most will shy away from the reporters as they start to build a memorial of flowers, pictures and notes as they begin to find out which lives were taken.

At the time of the Thurston Shooting, I worked at a local financial institution in Springfield, Oregon. I had one staff member who knew the shooter and his sister through church functions. Another staff member was a cousin of the only student killed on site. Another staff member was her best friend and the two of them left from work to go find the cousin at Thurston. They were actually on campus immediately after the shooting, before the police had completely closed it down for the investigation. Her cousin was already on the way to the hospital which she found out later.

Everyone on staff had friends and family that were involved in the school, the hospital or police, fire, medical response teams. Even our city bus system had been put on alert to transport students to a clearing area away from the school for police interviews if necessary. Many of us had also graduated from Thurston High School, including myself.

Over the next several weeks, many people will begin to set up trust funds to benefit victims of the shootings. Although people have the best interest at heart in opening up these funds, each fund can be used at the sole discretion of the person who opened the account. Each individual that sets up an account often has very different ideas of how the funds should be used to benefit the victims, or for that matter the definition of victim. Is a victim someone killed or injured? Or does it include anyone that was terrified on campus that day? Could the 911 operator that took a call from her child be considered a victim also?

In our area, the debate on this subject still continues. Many people who donated to these various funds still don't know how their funds were spent. There were many closed door yelling matches that the mayor oversaw regarding many ideas for the uses of the funds:

1. Payment of Medical bills
2. Payment of Rent for families affected by the shooting
3. Counseling for students/staff
4. College fund for survivors
5. Memorial

These are just a few of the items that were under discussion. My thoughts and prayers are with everyone that is involved. Everyone has a long road ahead of you but I know that each of you will come out stronger in the future even though you have suffered a great loss.