by Kimberly A. Cook (Twitter@ WarriorTales)
This has been a tough few days for my neighborhood. A lone shooter killed two people in our mall, wounded a young girl and then took his own life. My family and friends were all checking where each other was on Tuesday afternoon. One friend had just left the mall, two others were on their way and I was going after work from my day job.
I am grateful to our Clackamas County Sheriff Deputies who trained for this scenario earlier this year, the supporting law enforcement officials, plus the amazing work of Clackamas Fire District 1 and all our first responders. The mall security staff did their jobs with precision and bravery and mall employees and shoppers worked together to prevent a much greater tragedy.
The mall reopened an hour ago and I am off to shop at my favorite stores. You can’t let the crazies win. When an incident like this happens and Santa has to duck and cover and be rescued by a SWAT Team, you know angels were very hard at work on Tuesday.
We will remember the two wonderful people we lost and support their families, the loss to the distraught gunman’s family, help the wounded girl and her family and support all the employees and affected shoppers to get through this tragedy. Hold your loved ones close and be thankful for your friends and family.
On this truly Quirky Friday for those of us here in Clackamas County, I offer this video to help us start healing. Celebrate each day. Embrace the true meaning of the holidays as my fellow employees and citizens acted with goodwill toward each other on Tuesday. The good and brave of us outnumber the bad in our great nation. It gives me hope for the world.
http://youtu.be/S9leSsJAFu4
My family in Pennsylvania called about 10 minutes after I made it home that day. My office is just about 2 miles from the mall. As I was slowly trying to get home, I was amazed and THANKFUL for the emergency response and the fact that drivers moved out of the way to let them through.