I’ve never been in a war. But I see the clips from Las Vegas, and it looks like a war zone. I can’t imagine the chaos when facing that barrage of bullets.
Whenever these tragedies happen, there are incredible stories of heroism. They say the shooting lasted for roughly ten minutes. It’s incredible that a person who was so well armed, shooting from a distance, was able to get tracked down so quickly. People stepping up to take care of strangers. There will undoubtedly be stories of people who died to save lives. People who shielded loved ones with their own bodies, valuing the life of another ahead of their own. There are always those stories in the face of evil. And I think that’s what we should remember. There are more people who want to help than to harm.
I love this quote by Mr. Rogers:
“When I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news, my mother would say to me, “Look for the helpers. You will always find people who are helping.”
Last night, I saw an update on my phone about an active shooter in Las Vegas. Honestly didn’t think much about it. I’ve seen updates like that before where it turned out to be nothing. One of the first articles I saw showed a picture of a woman on the ground, covered in blood. I don’t know for sure, but I thought “it looks like she’s dead.” Woke up in the middle of the night and saw the death toll was upwards of 20 people.
And when I woke up this morning, 50. Death toll up to 58. Injuries are at 515. Unimaginable.
The momentary shock of trying to wrap my mind around that number, I could feel my eyes welling up with tears. Like everyone else, I see these things and I question “how could someone do this?” How could someone cause so much harm to total strangers. And not just to the people that you’ve killed and wounded, but the horror and heartbreak on families and friends. Lives turned upside down. Emotional and physical scars that will never heal. All of those people who lost their lives mattered to people, had families. And some monster robbed people of their future’s.
I pray for the victim’s families, for the injured as they recover, and for our nation.
jrb
Josh Benner 