Sandy Hook parents offer community support, policy advice after Annunciation shooting

WASHINGTON Nicole Hockley s -year-old son Dylan was one of first graders killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that horrified the nation and ushered in the grim realization that America s children might not be safe in their classrooms Hockley and other Sandy Hook parents turned their grief into activism to try to prevent the violence that claimed the lives of their loved ones Hockley helped establish and is the CEO of Sandy Hook Promise which breathed life into a movement spearheaded by casualties of gun violence The organization not only seeks to strengthen gun regulations but it also lobbies for effective school safety policies and mental robustness and dilemma intervention guidance There have been dozens of school shootings since that massacre in Newtown Conn which also claimed the lives of six adults They have occurred largest part notably in Parkland Florida Uvalde and Santa Fe Texas and Oxford Township Michigan But Hockley reported Sandy Hook Promise policies have prevented other shootings and saved the lives of several people contemplating suicide Hockley who provides advocacy for the families of shooting casualties has already spoken with a parent of one of the casualties of the Annunciation Catholic Church shooting in Minneapolis and her unit at Sandy Hook Promise is in contact with state legislators who will consider new gun and school safety measures at a special session called by Gov Tim Walz who has mentioned he wants an assault weapons ban Related D C Memo Sandy Hook and now Annunciation Hockley spoke to MinnPost about the measures Minnesota could take in the wake of the Annunciation shooting and the long-term impact of a school shooting on a population The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity MinnPost Did you know what you were getting into when you became a gun safety advocate Nicole Hockley I am very honest when I speak to parents in other school shootings or mass shootings across the country including Minnesota two weeks ago that when I first helped launch this I did not know what I sought Sandy Hook Promise to be or what exactly we were going to do I just know that if you want to advocate for change this is something that you can do Then it became a lesson for me We started off down in D C advocating for expanded FBI background checks because everyone was saying that that was the thing to do at that point And then when that failed four or five months after the shooting in April that could have been a moment when we commented this is too frustrating change isn t going to happen But instead we decided to think differently because there is unfailingly more than one way to solve a issue MP And what were those other methods NH We really focused on the causes of violence and prevention and the long pathway that someone could take including giving off signs before they commit an act of violence So we developed our initiative and our agenda approach We began in and since then Sandy Hook Promise has grown at a phenomenal rate in terms of programs in schools across the country We teach young people and adults around them how to recognize the signs of someone who might be at liability of hurting themselves or someone else and how to say something and how to create connection because disconnection is how this pathway to violence starts MP But you try to change laws too don t you NH We advocate for initiative on a state and federal level We write model provision And we passed our model act under three presidents and in numerous states across the country that are mandating access to mental fitness promotion for school safety patronage for gun safety Nicole Hockley Credit Courtesy of Sandy Hook Promise MP And you have been in touch with the parent of a victim in the Annunciation shooting NH We rarely reach out knowing what it s like right after a shooting and how you know people and groups will be crawling all over you We often wait to be reached out to So there have been instances such as Uvalde where I think I waited about six months before I reached out to any of the parents there Sandy Hook parent Mark Barden and I have both spoken to one of the parents who reached out to us a sparse days after the Annunciation shooting We re just there as a reserve as families find their way forward In these early days it s just about listening and being there for someone without any expectations MP Gov Walz wants to convene a special session of the Legislature to deal with the shooting Is Sandy Hook Promise suggesting anything NH I can t share the details because we re still formulating our plans and are in early discussions with different legislators but everyone wants to do something which is great So we re going to as we unfailingly do give our best advice and endorsement on what would be meaningful and what could be implemented in a way that would help prevent these types of shootings For example Minnesota has an extreme vulnerability protection order on the books already Considering how plenty of signs the Annunciation shooter gave off there could have been an opportunity for that extreme threat protection order to be enacted so that the shooter was separated from firearms or access to firearms What we don t know yet is how a great number of Minnesotans know that the state has an extreme menace protection order red flag law and how it works so that if they see the signs they know how to review it in a lawful way So it could be as simple as creating more learning and awareness MP Specific Minnesota lawmakers want to make sure there are school deposit officers at every school NH School fund officers are perfect for creating relationships with students but not for punitive measures The Annunciation school shooter shot from outside the building right So it s hard to know how an SRO would have helped Same with the Sandy Hook shooter He shot his way into the school you know he shot his way through the locked doors And several people say if an SRO had been there they would have been able to stop him Others say the SRO would have been the first person shot Or you ve also seen in places like Uvalde the SROs were thoroughly ineffective and ran away from the shooting rather than going towards it It s a mixed bag So I don t have an opinion either way on SROs I think it all depends on the circumstance They can be a deterrent but they re not going to prevent violence MP What else could be done NH Basic prevention training in schools so that youth and adults know how to recognize signs and then assessment them either through something like a red flag law or through an anonymous reporting system That s key because people need to be able to recognize signs and know what to do when you see them That s what we do every single day There are also opportunities for secure storage laws because we know unfortunately bulk school shootings involve guns within the home I know that this shooter had obtained guns legally That s not perpetually the affair It s quite often a younger shooter who takes the guns from their home where their parents have not securely stored them So secure storage is also an option But I think as we learn more about the event itself and what legislators are thinking we ll be able to help them craft appropriate act MP It s been a tough path for you and the others at Sandy Hook Promise Mark Barden and Bill Sherlach whose wife Mary died holding Dylan in her arms Mary Sherlach was the school s psychologist NH Advocacy is a very complicated life to choose I m very upfront about that It s around years after Sandy Hook and it s exhausting to constantly retraumatize yourself It s exhausting to continue to fight for something that is so sensible and normal keeping kids safe and still to have impediments But there s a lot of success We have passed so a large number of laws we have accelerated a new movement And we have saved a lot of lives Over a thousand imminent suicides have been stopped because of our training so far At last count there were validated school shootings that did not happen because of our training and our reporting system So we know what works and that s what keeps me going But that is a intricate choice to make especially when you are grieving and still traumatized MP You also noted a school shooting also leaves a area traumatized NH This is a long journey Almost years out we are still dealing with the aftereffects the mental soundness issues help needed for young people the backing needed for first responders the advocacy needed for families The ripple effects of trauma are huge and everlasting So I think the group is going to need a lot of help a lot of grace as they get through this because this is incredibly challenging And you just can t understand how hard it is until you ve experienced something like that and how fracturing it can be within a region as well Whatever works for you give yourself compassion model compassion to others and also know that there s no getting over this but there is going to be a pathway through it and everyone is going to find their own way The post Sandy Hook parents offer society encouragement approach advice after Annunciation shooting appeared first on MinnPost