It’s 8:30 Monday morning on September 16, 2013. Across America, people are beginning their week, heavily dragging their feet to the slow drum of Monday morning tiredness. In Washington, D.C., the scene is drastically different. Sirens, police cars, ambulances – all sounds typical in a city, seem to be crying louder than usual as they rush to the Washington Navy Yard where it has been confirmed an active shooter is on the loose. Over the next five hours, reports continue to stream in. At first, there are two injuries reported, but quickly that number grows. 4 killed. 8 injured. Then, shortly thereafter: 10 shot including 8 civilians and 2 police officers, then reports that there may be more than one shooter on the loose. The chaos of conflicting reports; the country waits with baited breath and hope that this shooting will end soon with no more injuries reported. In the midst of the shooting, Regan International Airport restricted any flights from leaving, the Department of Transportation was locked down, players on the Nationals baseball team were instructed not to go to the ballpark, and 11 schools were on lockdown. By 11:41am, there were confirmed reports that a shooter was killed. However, this lead to further reports that there were potentially two additional shooters on the scene, leading to a further manhunt for these two shooters who were not immediately located.
At 12:45pm, President Obama spoke to the American People, saying “we still don’t know all the facts, but we do know that several people have been shot and some have been killed. So we are confronting yet another mass shooting, and it happened again on a military installation.… I want the investigation to be seamless…we will do everything in our power to make sure whoever carried out this cowardly act is held responsible.”
In the past months, it seems tragedy after tragedy has continued to shock America. In fact, since 2009, one shooting every month has occured taking the lives of at least 4 individuals. That’s 43 shootings in which more than four people were killed in the same incident in the past four years, according to a study released this year by Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Sometimes it can be hard to remind ourselves the world is made up of both good and bad people, and though it may seem the bad often overpower the good, we must remember that after each tragedy, we are stronger, more caring, and grow closer to one another. In the wake of tragedies, we must remember the happiness which always lies ahead, that shines from the past to guide us forward, and continue to do our part to cultivate a society of understanding, acceptance, and camaraderie. Tonight, as the sun sets on this day of tragedy, D.C. flags rest at half-staff, and we begin the period of mourning the loss of 12 heroic lives. With a potential shooter still at large, and wounds of deep grief open, tomorrow will certainly be a day full of grief and continued confusion as American’s try to piece together the reasons for why this heinous incident occurred. As Will McAvoy has said in The Newsroom, “America’s darkest days are always followed by its finest hours.”