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How to live after a massacre

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Aleteia - published on 09/28/19

One survivor is sharing hope after living through horror.

Dawn is a teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut (USA). On the morning of December 14, 2012, she was there when a killer burst into action, killing 26 people: 6 adults and 20 children. “How does God allow this to happen?”

Dawn remembers the events: the first shots, the need for help, the phone on the wall, picking up the receiver, more shots, and the receiver left hanging off the hook. According to the police, that telephone activated the school’s PA system, allowing everyone to hear the shots and take cover. But that telephone wasn’t connected to the PA system. “It wasn’t me. A miracle happened that day. God was there.”

The wound still stings, but she says, “I saw hope in the kindness of others.” Family and friends helped, but also countless strangers who sent messages of solidarity. “There’s more good than bad in the world, and I think we need to nurture it and cultivate it by being good to each other.”

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