A student at Michigan State University has spoken out after surviving her second school shooting, having previously studied at Sandy Hook at the time of the 2012 massacre.
Here she is making a heartfelt plea for an end to the violence:
Jackie Matthews has the incredibly unfortunate and saddening record of having been present at two mass shootings during her short life.
In 2012, Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.
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20 of his victims that day were children aged between six and seven years old, with the rest school staff.
Before heading to the school Lanza also killed his own mother, and he later killed himself.
On 13 February, a gunman entered Michigan State University and began shooting, killing three students.
43-year-old Anthony Dwayne McRae then went away from the university campus but also died before he could be arrested, with police stating that he died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
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One unifying thing between the two atrocities is Matthews, who was a child when she survived Sandy Hook, and is now a 21-year-old senior at Michigan State, where she was on campus at the time of the latter incident.
In a video on her TikTok account, Matthews implored those in power to legislate to stop these horrific events from occurring repeatedly.
She said: “I am 21 years old, and this is the second mass shooting that I have now lived through,
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“The fact that this is the second mass shooting that I have now lived through is incomprehensible.”
In a now-deleted clip, she detailed how she suffered a post-traumatic stress disorder fracture in her back because of what happened in 2012, something that still affects her to this day.
Now, she wants more than the usual thoughts, love, and prayers that are always promised whenever mass shootings occur.
Matthews said: “My heart goes out to all the families and the friends of the Michigan State shooting.
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“But we can no longer just provide love and prayers,
“It needs to be legislation, it needs to be action.
“It’s not okay.”
She concluded: “We can no longer allow this to happen.
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“We can no longer be complacent.
“I’ll forever be Sandy Hook Strong. I’ll forever be Spartan Strong.”
Anthony Dwayne McRae entered Michigan State University grounds at around 8:15pm local time on Monday (12 Februrary), entering a classroom and opening up fire.
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He left three dead before police tracked him to a location off-campus where he then died after reportedly shooting himself.
It’s a familiar story, all-together too familiar to many in the United States.
Since Matthews shared her video online, it has been viewed more than 9.4 million times, with thousands commenting their support for her and her suggestions that more can be done to prevent tragic situations such as these.
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677
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If you or someone you know is struggling or in mental health crisis, help is available through Mental Health America. Call or text 988 or chat 988lifeline.org. You can also reach Crisis Text Line by texting MHA to 741741.
You can also call 1-800-985-5990 or text “TalkWithUs” to 66746 at the SAMHSA Disaster Distress Helpline.
Tom Wood