21-year-old Jackie Matthews posted an emotional video reflection on TikTok about “the second mass shooting I’ve lived through” at around one in the morning on Tuesday, directly across from the scene of Monday’s Michigan State University Shooting.
“Ten years and two months ago, I survived the Sandy Hook shooting,” Matthews says. “When I was crouched in the corner in school in Newtown, Connecticut, on 12/14/12, I was hunched in the corner with my classmates for so long that I actually got a PTSD fracture in my L4 and L5 in my right lower back. I now have a full-blown PTSD fracture that flares up anytime I have a stressful situation.”
“The fact that this is a second mass shooting that I have now lived through is incomprehensible. My heart goes out to all the families and the friends of the victims of Michigan State shooting. But we can no longer just provide love and prayers … [there] needs to be legislation, needs to be action.
“It’s not OK. We can no longer allow this to happen. We can no longer be complacent.”
At least three students were killed in the shooting on Monday night, and five more were still in serious condition Tuesday.
Tuesday morning, Matthews’ video rapidly went viral. By 1 p.m., Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, had received 42,000 likes and nearly 14,000 retweets.
Just hours before the fifth anniversary of the Valentine’s Day school massacre in Parkland, Florida, which claimed 17 lives, there was a shooting at Michigan State. Several of our earlier articles on the effects of Parkland:
Three students were killed and five others were badly injured in the incident on Monday night.
Tuesday morning’s Matthews video swiftly gained popularity; by 1 p.m., a tweet from Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts had received 42,000 likes and over 14,000 retweets.
Only a few hours had passed since the Parkland, Florida, school massacre on Valentine’s Day, which claimed 17 lives, before the shooting at Michigan State. Several of our earlier articles on Parkland’s effects:
