Survivor of 2018 attack at Parkland school speaks out on spate of recent mass shootings

Judy Woodruff:

Well, the horror of what happened in Texas is leaving yet more families, friends and community members grieving, even reeling over the loss of loved ones.

It's an experience that many survivors and families know all too well from previous attacks at Sandy Hook, Aurora, Parkland, Columbine, and too many others to count.

John Yang talks about that with a survivor of the Parkland shooting.

John Yang:

Judy, in February 2018, 17 people, 14 of them students, were killed and 17 others wounded in a shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. It remains the deadliest high school shooting in U.S. history.

Survivors, families and friends of the dead and other Parkland residents have dealt have dealt with their pain and grief, and many are now activists.

Aalayah Eastmond is one of those survivors. She's on the executive council of Team ENOUGH, a youth-led movement working to reduce gun violence. She's also a student at Trinity College in Washington, D.C.

Aalayah, thanks so much for joining us.

Having survived the horror of that high school shooting, I imagine it's very difficult for you to hear about, to learn about the shootings in the past couple of weeks, Buffalo and now the shooting in Texas.

Help us understand, what have the last two weeks been like for you?

Aalayah Eastmond, Parkland Shooting Survivor:

Well, honestly, I can't even remember half of my week because all I have been focusing on is these shootings, because they keep happening back to back.

And we have to also acknowledge the everyday gun violence that we're seeing in our communities in inner cities as well. So my mind has just been on go. And it's just been filled with trauma and flashbacks relating to my shooting that I experienced in 2018, when I was only 16.

So it's just a lot of numb feelings, a lot of anger, a lot of disappointment, and, honestly, a lot of shame, because I think the issue of gun violence is something that we should be ashamed of in this country.

John Yang:

If you had a message for the people who were in that grocery store in Buffalo, and especially the children who were in the school in Texas, what would it be? What would you want to tell them?

Aalayah Eastmond:

Honestly, I would just say, I am so sorry that we couldn't prevent this from happening since Parkland.

I feel like Parkland should have been the last. Sandy Hook should have been the last. Columbine should have been the last. Like, we keep seeing these shootings happening year after year after year. And not enough is being done to prevent them.

So, I honestly — as a fellow survivor, I would just apologize, because I feel like this is preventable and this shouldn't be happening. And especially, especially elementary school children shouldn't have to deal with being gunned down in their schools.

John Yang:

And what would you tell them to help them prepare for the days, the weeks, the months, the years ahead?

Aalayah Eastmond:

Yes, I mean, for me, grief and trauma is different for everyone.

For me, it got a little harder for me as I went to college after high school. And I decided to go to college out of state. So it was hard to be away from family. But I do want to emphasize that it gets a little easier when you know how to function in your new normal.

A lot of times for gun violence survivors, especially from my high school, we look at life as before the shooting, and then after the shooting. So, acknowledging what life was before and trying to get back into that happiness or that groove is somewhat helpful, but it's difficult, and it's different for everyone.

But I would just emphasize staying with family and friends and being around loved ones, and just knowing that the rest of this country is standing with you, we support you, and we're always here to support you in whatever endeavors you have coming forward or in anything that you need support with.

John Yang:

If history is any guide of the future, the survivors of Buffalo, the survivors of Uvalde, Texas, are going to have weeks like you have just had, of having to hear news reports of these things again and again.

Is there anything you can say to help them prepare for that?

Aalayah Eastmond:

Yes, I mean, it's different for everyone.

I think having the power or the tools of social media makes it a lot harder to separate yourself from these tragedies, because we're seeing it consistently every single day on our cell phones, on our TVs.

But one thing that I and other survivors from my high school like to do is, when we see things that are happening, and it gets overwhelming, it's OK to put your phone down. It's OK to turn off the TV. It's OK to just take moment — take a moment to be with your family and be with your friends, because, especially when tragedies are happening, it's like a flashback for survivors.

It's a moment to remember what you experienced. And that can be hard, especially when it's like a normal, random weekend and you hear another mass shooting happened. So just taking time for yourself is OK and just surrounding yourself with people that love you and support you is the best advice that I can give.

John Yang:

You talked about wanting to apologize to these people for that — that it happened again, that it happened to them.

Does that — the fact that nothing really has been done or very little has been done since the incident at your high school, does that make you angry? Does it make you frustrated? Do you — are you resigned to nothing happening? Are you hopeful that something will happen?

Aalayah Eastmond:

I'm disappointed, angry, literally all of the above, especially as a young woman, growing up in this generation where we have to fear for our lives because of gun violence.

And it doesn't even matter where you are, where you're located, what you're doing. It's one of those things that can happen to anyone anywhere at any time. And it's honestly scary.

And I am just so disappointed in this country and the leaders of this nation for continuing to turn a blind eye to this issue, and not listening to the young people that are crying for help, that are crying to not have to worry about going to school and being gunned down, or family members going to the grocery store and being worried about getting gunned down in the grocery store, or even churches, or just anywhere.

It's just, honestly, a disgrace. And I think leaders of this nation should be ashamed of themselves. And they need to step up and do action now, because this will continue to happen as the years go on.

John Yang:

Aalayah Eastmond, a survivor of the shooting at the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, thank you very much.

Aalayah Eastmond:

Thank you.