I spent a good part of this afternoon with the news on in the background, listening over and over again to the press conference held by Pennsylvania State Police Colonel Jeffrey B. Miller.
Over and over again I silently prayed for the young victims of the shooting in the schoolhouse. I prayed for their families. I prayed for the children and adults that the killer let go--their trauma will cut deep also. I prayed for the killer's wife and family, and even for his eternal soul.
My heart went out to those families in Pennsylvania who sent their kids off to school this morning, much as I had--but who sometime in the middle of the day found out that their child had been wounded or killed.
And my heart went out to Colonel Miller and the other police officers and emergency responders who had to deal with this terrible situation. It was obvious from watching the press conference that this was a difficult crime scene to deal with; I guess no matter how professional you are, no matter how long you have been a police officer or EMT or firefighter, nothing can prepare you for a mass murder--especially one of children. It was quite clear that Colonel Miller did not want to be standing in front of the press at that time, though he said and did nothing disrespectful toward them. But from his answers, it was obvious that he was concerned with his fellow police officers and other responders; he was concerned for the victims and their families. He wanted and needed to be somewhere else, rather than on that stage with that microphone and those cameras and lights and intrusive, curious questions that served no purpose other than to prolong the agony for everyone.
May God bless them all; may the wounded find healing; may the mourning find comfort.
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