How could this have happened?
This question has reverberated in people’s minds and hearts since high school freshman Jared Padgett shot and killed 14-year-old Emilio Hoffman and injured physical education teacher Todd Rispler before taking his own life.
As parents, grandparents, siblings, and community members, we expect children to be safe from gun violence in schools. Acts of violence like the Reynolds shooting are so unexpected and the loss of life is so tragic that it can shake us to the core. Even those of us who don’t know the shooting victims or have children at Reynolds High School are bewildered by the violence. Our hearts go out to the victims’ loved ones and all of the individuals, families, and communities that are directly impacted. We reach out to hold our own young loved ones a bit closer. We try to make sense out of something that appears senseless. Even as details emerge about what happened at Reynolds, it is becoming clearer that there are no full answers for Jared Padgett’s decisions to shoot and take away someone else’s life. We hear his family’s pain. We ask: How could this have happened?
And we long to know: How can we make sure this doesn’t happen again?
Much of the conversation around preventing school shootings in the future has centered on better identifying who should have access to guns; identifying and addressing people’s mental health needs through professional support in the community; and preparing students, teachers, and school administrators so they are ready to find safety and respond if a school shooting occurs. These are all worthy action points to work toward so we can have structures in place to better prevent and respond to school violence.
Changing policies takes time. Many people need to process their own trauma now. We have an opportunity to better understand, discuss, and attend to the trauma that has been created by this tragic violence.
Trauma is something that we don’t often talk about, but it impacts all of us at different points in our lives. The American Psychological Association defines trauma as “an emotional response to a terrible event like an accident, rape, or national disaster.” Essentially, a traumatic response is what people experience after something happens to us that is deeply disturbing, overwhelming, and makes us fear for our safety or threatens our sense of stability.
When someone is directly impacted by a traumatic event, the person can experience a combination of deep psychological or emotional, physical, financial and spiritual responses. Few of us can imagine the pain and loss that Emilio Hoffman’s family and friends are experiencing. Or what Jared Padgett’s family and friends are going through. Or how the students, parents, teachers and administrators at Reynolds are adjusting to a new school reality that holds so much fresh pain. These responses may be very strong and they may continue for a long period of time before someone is able to reach a new healthy sense of “normal.”
Usually, if someone is less directly impacted, their response is less severe. But if the traumatic event makes someone re-experience a trauma that directly impacted him or her in the past, the person can also have a strong reaction to what happened, too.
The good news is that people can feel better, regain hope and trust, and rebuild their lives after experiencing a traumatic event. Many people feel better within a few months, depending on how severely they were impacted by what happened. For others, the impact of trauma can last much longer. While trauma in the short-term is a normal response to an abnormal situation, extended trauma can have negative impacts, including developing post-traumatic stress disorder, mental health challenges, addiction, eating disorders, and physical illness, if it isn’t addressed. If post-traumatic stress symptoms are severe enough to interfere with someone’s family, friends, and job or school in the first month after the trauma, it may be helpful to talk with a trained professional. Multnomah County’s Mental Health Call Center provides crisis counseling by phone, information and referrals, and more 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-716-9769.
We have an opportunity to take care of ourselves and each other. Spend time with friends and family members who you care about. Take some “alone time,” too. Eat healthy foods. Get regular exercise, even just a few minutes a day. Get enough rest. Drink plenty of water. Avoid excessive use of alcohol or caffeine. Listen to music that makes you feel good. Ask for help if you’re struggling. Remember that no one has all the answers. And no one should be expected to go through a difficult time alone.
We can come together as a community. Life may look different now, but the future can be full of hope, health, and healing.
