But I hope you read on.
It's all about three seconds. Police estimate that is all it took. Three seconds.
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| One of the thirteen memorial plaques |
On April 3, 2009, a troubled 41 year old immigrant walked into a building housing the American Civic Association on the edge of downtown Binghamton. He shot the receptionist (she survived) and entered an adult classroom for immigrants. Seconds later, 14 people, including the shooter (by suicide), were dead.
The shooter bought his gun legally, in a store (no longer in business) a bit more than a mile from my house. He frequented the Binghamton library, the same library whose crocuses are featured at the top of my post. The same Binghamton library I've spent many happy hours in.
Most of the victims were, themselves, immigrants.
On April 10, 2009, I wrote my first blog post, based on an email I wrote the day of the shooting, as people concerned about my safety called or emailed me.
Since then, I have written other blog posts. This is the one I wrote on April 3, 2016.
I've written several about Roberta King, the teacher in that classroom.
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| ACA shooting memorial, Binghamton, New York |
Although I know someone who works for ACA (he wasn't there at the time), and another person whose mother in law was in the building when the shooting happened (she wasn't injured), I didn't know any of the dead personally- although I had met one of them (Roberta King) several years before. Still, every time there is a mass killing in the news, I think back to that day, and can feel only sadness for those going through the experience now.
Here are the dead. They came from many places. One couple, a husband and wife, left two children, six and 12. Others left children, too.
To quote our local paper:
"Some were young and full of hope for the future. Some
were in the prime of their lives, happy to be living here and enjoying
the fruits of their labors.
Some came here in search of knowledge, some in search of a safer, saner place to settle down and raise their families."
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| One of the symbolic soaring birds at the ACA memorial |
But more sobering, to us in Binghamton, it seems as though many have forgotten.
At the time, this was the seventh most deadly shooting in the United States. Now, so many other shootings have crowded ours out. Who can blame others for forgetting us, when there has been (in no particular order) Orlando, Las Vegas, Virginia Tech, Newtown, Connecticut, Sutherland Springs, Texas, Parkland, Florida and too many more to mention?
But, with the suicide this past week, of two survivors of mass shootings and the father of a woman who died in a mass shooting, I am concerned that anyone who is living through this hell (and it is a rest-of-their-lives hell only they can fully understand) ever feel like they are forgotten. For these families and co-workers, every day of the past 10 years has been April 3, 2009.
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| Cars passing the ACA shooting memorial in Binghamton, taken by my "guest photographer" |
But we in Binghamton, New York haven't forgotten you.
Why? It could be the flood of mass shootings that have followed the Binghamton shooting. Just one more spot of pain in a list that grows longer every day? Even the students of Parkland-turned-activists haven't been able to shock us out of national paralysis.
Will the shootings ever end? Will the nightmare of thousands of survivors ever end?
Day 3 of the Ultimate Blog Challenge #blogboost and "C" day of #AtoZChallenge
Sad, isn’t it, that nothing has changed in 10 years?
ReplyDeleteSongbird, it sure is.
ReplyDeleteIt's been almost a year since I got caught up in a shooting--a boyfriend shot his girlfriend, leading to a police stand off, with me having to stay in cover the whole time. The experience was shocking enough, but what shocked me even more is how little people seemed to care afterwards. There's a bizarre lack of empathy when it comes to gun violence.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe we as a nation continue to allow this to happen. New Zealand took matters completely seriously thinking of the welfare of its peoples. We seem to think that gun rights matter more than lives. I can't stand it. I'm sorry you feel forgotten, because honestly, I didn't know about this shooting, and that is a tragedy in itself. There are just too many anymore. Even one is too many. Thanks for calling attention to this sad state of the US.
ReplyDeleteSobering. You're right, I had forgotten. Shame on me. Thanks for the reminder. There's much work to do...
ReplyDeleteIt’s frightening to think that shootings might never stop. People seem to feel that it’s okay to do this. It’s their moment of fame - even when they shoot themselves in the process. They’ve not been taught how to effectively express themselves. It’s more than mental illness - much more.
ReplyDeleteIt's gotten to the point where there are just too many of them. Sad, isn't it? There are so many that we can no longer keep track of them. Sounds like this is a big part of the problem.
ReplyDeleteI remember your posts on the tragic shooting. So many since then, and still little has been done. A fitting title for Letter 'C'.
ReplyDeleteSue at CollectInTexas Gal
Gun violence has become normalized here and it's beyond sad. Sorry for anyone that has lost a loved one or experienced the trauma first hand.
ReplyDeleteDepressing but we should never forget. Rightfully - never forget.
ReplyDeleteSo sad with all the killings. Twenty years has passed since this one and it seems like nothing has changed, only more of the same. I pray that some day all this will end. Prayers to the families and love your crocus photos.
ReplyDeleteEach act of violence is another pain for our collective souls.
ReplyDeleteHow very sad our reality is that things have not changed over the years and shootings like this have become routine!
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that tragedies like this continue with even more regularity in the last 10 years! We don't forget
ReplyDelete