2001 California Mass Shooting Survivor Helps Her Son During Oregon School Massacre

A woman who survived a California mass school shooting in 2001 had her worst nightmare repeat itself during this week’s Oregon school massacre when her son got caught in the middle of all the violence, according to CNN.

The outlet reported on the tragic experiences of a woman named Michelle. Michelle discussed what she learned living through the California shooting in the context of the Oregon shooting that claimed the lives of 3 young students and one teacher in the city of Bend.

She said she was traumatized after surviving the mass shooting at her high school when she was a freshman. As a result, she would always “scan rooms for exits, sit facing doors, and live with anxiety and panic attacks,” CNN reported.

Fast forward to this past Thursday, when 16-year-old Griffin J. John II went on his rampage with a pump-action shotgun at Silver Rail Elementary School, killing 3 students, ages 5, 8, and 11, and a 25-year-old teacher.

Michelle’s son, who’s in the fifth grade at Silver Rail, reportedly called her in a panic … with her answering on her Apple Watch while she was eating at Olive Garden. 

Her son said, “Mom, there’s a shooter,” according to Michelle, adding that she knew from the sound of his voice something was horribly wrong. Michelle then told her son she loved him and to keep quiet before she hung up to call 911 and headed to the school.

During this time, Michelle also exchanged texts with her son, telling him the police were going to help him and reiterating that she loved him. Luckily, Michelle’s son survived the attack just like she did in 2001.