PTSD in first responders

PTSD in first responders: emergency personnel’s repeated exposure to trauma can cause severe emotional stress
By Stephen M. Pfeiffer, PhD
From firefighters and EMTs to law enforcement officers and ER nurses, emergency services personnel spend their lives on the front lines, constantly exposed not only to dangerous circumstances but also traumatic scenes and events that can leave a lasting mark. Studies have shown that PTSD in first responders and others who work under such circumstances is a common risk – one that, despite its prevalence, may be overshadowed by the physical dangers associated with emergency service careers. However, it is critical for employers and medical professionals alike to be aware of PTSD risk, and to take steps toward preventing and effectively treating the disorder.
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Several of the classes I had when I got certified in Crisis Intervention focused on taking care of the responders instead of just the survivors. When the "victims" survive the event, they can be pretty sure they will not have to experience something like that again but the responders know it may be a different day and a different circumstance, but they will face something like it over and over again.

When we heard about the shootings in Newtown and the Medical Examiner talking about the 20 tiny bodies with multiple bullet wounds, that heart wrenching news was followed by the fact there was only one funeral director in town that would have to face 28 funerals.

They will need a lot of help, just like the teachers, parents and friends of all of those killed but there is one more group that will need help that cannot be forgotten. The first responders rush to the school not knowing what they would find there, if they were risking their lives, would be slaughtered or if they would walk into horror beyond their imagination.

I doubt even their worst fears could have come close to what they saw when they walked down the halls of Sandy Hook.

Help them grieve as soon as they can so they can start to heal from all of this.



September 11, 2009
About the Video: When National Guards go to Iraq or Afghanistan, they serve with the regular military but have to come home, back to police departments, fire departments and responding to natural traumatic events. What we don't think about is that they are also bring the war back home inside of them, but doing what they always do. Being there when we need them.

Deadly, dangerous weekend across the country

Marcos Gurrola Arrested After Firing 50 Shots In California Mall Parking Lot
Huffington Post
12/15/12

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — A man was arrested Saturday after firing about 50 shots in the parking lot of a Southern California shopping mall, prompting a lockdown of stores crowded with holiday shoppers.

Marcos Gurrola, 42, of Garden Grove was taken into custody by bicycle police officers patrolling around the open-air Fashion Island mall around 4:30 p.m., police spokeswoman Cathy Lowe said. She said he fired into the air and onto the ground in the parking lot near a Macy's department store.

No one was injured, but the gunfire caused panic, coming a day after a gunman killed 26 children and adults at a Connecticut elementary school, and days after a deadly mall shooting in Oregon.
read more here

Christopher Krumm, Casper College Shooter, Wrote Suicide Notes, Police Say
Huffington Post
12/16/12

CASPER, Wyo. -- Investigators say they have found two suicide notes written by a man who killed his father in front of a computer science class at a Wyoming community college.

Police say Krumm barged into a classroom at the college Nov. 30 and shot his father, 56-year-old James Krumm, with an arrow in front of a handful of students. As the students fled, the Vernon, Conn., man stabbed his father with a knife, then killed himself.
read more here

Von I. Meyer Arrested: Indiana School Threatened By Man Owning 47 Guns
By RICK CALLAHAN 12/16/12
INDIANAPOLIS — A northern Indiana police chief said Sunday he believes a man arrested after allegedly threatening to "kill as many people as he could" at a school was just bluffing when he made the ominous remark during a heated argument with his wife.
read more here

UPDATE
December 18, 2012
San Antonio Movie Theater Shooting: Gunman Shoots 1 In Theater Parking Lot
12/17/12
SAN ANTONIO — Sheriff's officials say a man opened fire in a San Antonio movie theater parking lot, wounding one person before an officer shot him inside the theater.

Bexar (bayr) County sheriff's spokesman Louis Antu says the incident started about 9:30 p.m. Sunday when the man fired shots inside a nearby restaurant. It's not clear what led to the shooting.
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Misinformation is being posted on social media sites about Sandy Hook

FROM CNN

[Updated at 11:50 a.m. ET] Inaccurate information about the Connecticut elementary school shooting is spreading on social media, and authorities could prosecute those responsible, Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance told reporters Sunday.

Connecticut State Police Lt. Paul Vance addresses reporters on Sunday morning.

"Misinformation is being posted on social media sites," he said. "There has been misinformation from people posing as the shooter in this case, posing using other IDs. Mimicking this crime and crime scene and criminal activity that took place in this community. There's been some things in somewhat of a threatening manner. ... These issues are crimes. They will be investigated. ... Prosecution will take place when people who are perpetrating this information are identified."
read more here

Teachers at Sandy Hook "absolute superheroes"

Parents: Teachers 'absolute superheroes'
CNN Weekend Shows
Added on December 15, 2012
Parents whose children survived the Sandy Hook shooting tell CNN's Soledad O'Brien how teachers protected their kids.

Paperwork to have these assault weapons still deadly

Paperwork to have these assault weapons still deadly
by Kathie Costos
Wounded Times
December 16, 2012

On Friday, moments after the reports started to come out about the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, I posted Shooting reported at Connecticut elementary school The CNN report was from 11:19 and it was posted at 11:24. Like most Americans I was glued to the reports coming out because I couldn't make any sense out of this. I kept waiting to hear the reason behind something like this. This is Sunday and there has still been no explanation for it. The reason may never be known and that really hurts because of all the people killed by this one person.

I read how the Mom of the shooter collected the guns he used and purchased them legally but then I read nonsense about how she was a "responsible" gun owner. While she did have all the paperwork to have these assault weapons, she could not have been a responsible person considering she was also living with her adult son with some sort of mental illness. Mentally ill people do not suddenly "snap" and this shooter didn't either. He used his own Mom's guns to kill her and then went to the school to kill more topped off with shooters rifle was rigged to reload quickly.

The Medical Examiner said the children were shot multiple times and by the accounts of the time it took to do this, it was only within minutes from the time the 911 calls were made and officers responded.

Some say she had the weapons for protection but if she had only one handgun locked up then maybe this all could have been prevented. How many guns can a person use at the same time? The shooter used the Bushmaster rifle on the kids and teachers more than the handguns he brought into the school.

Since Friday people have been defending the rights of gun owners against calls for action to prevent mass murders. Maybe the fact this was a school filled with very young children will cause people to wonder about automatic weapons. To this day I still have not heard a single, solid defense regarding the necessity of having an automatic weapon although I do defend the right for people to own regular guns and hunting weapons. As confusing as it gets, even normal gun rights advocates will be sickened by this comment tweeted by an Evangelical talk host.

The most unhinged reactions to the shooting
Conservatives are adamant about not "politicizing" the tragedy. Perhaps they should look at their Twitter feeds
BY ALEX SEITZ-WALD
DEC 14, 2012

Evangelical radio host Bryan Fischer had a similar, if far loonier, message. “Here’s the bottom line — God is not going to go where He is not wanted,” he said on his radio show today. “We kicked God out of our public school system. I think God would say to us, hey, I would be glad to protect your children, but you gotta invite me back into your world first. I’m not going to go where I’m not wanted. I am a gentleman… Back when we had prayer, the Bible and the Ten Commandments in schools, we did not need guns.”

This person actually must believe that the killing of these tiny children and heroic teachers was because God's feelings were hurt without ever once noticing how many times it was shown God was there on Friday when teachers risked their lives to save the children and when first responders rushed in not knowing what they were facing. He must actually believe God would defend assault weapons no matter how they are used because "responsible" gun owners want to have them no matter how others use them.

I have no problem with my friends owning guns, since most of them do. They have all different kinds of handguns so even if I don't understand their need I can respect it because I respect them. If you think about the number of guns in this country at 300 million, it is easy to acknowledge how few times something like this has happened but all of us also have to acknowledge that the shooters were all unstable and still able to get their hands on assault weapons.

Isn't it time to talk about what real responsibility is?

Huckabee jumped in on this one too!

Massacre of children leaves many asking, 'Where’s God?'

I am so tired of religious leaders taking the easy way out of saying "there is no good answer" when the worst tragedy happens. It shows they lack the ability to see God in all things including times when evil is committed. They forget that God will not interfere with man's freewill. It is up to them if they listen to His voice to do good in this world or to turn away and do evil against others.

Today we focus on the pain and the horror of so many children being killed along with innocent adults just trying to teach them so they could have a better future. That future will now include remembering this evil act, yet I refuse to ask "where was God" because I know He was there.

Some parents are holding onto their children tonight and some will thank God it wasn't them at the same time they grieve for the other parents. Some parents are waiting to be able to claim the bodies of the children they kissed goodbye this morning as they sent them off to school. Some of them are asking "where was God" and some will blame God. All of them will be searching for answers and turning to clergy for help but if they hear "there are no easy answers" their healing will not begin.

God was there when teachers risked their lives to pull children to safety. He was there when police officers rushed to the school only thinking about the kids not knowing what they were rushing into or if they would also die this day.

He was there when arms reached out to comfort and when the nation sent up prayers to heaven for strangers they would never meet. He is there when crisis responders drop whatever they were doing and rush to be there for all of those in need including the responders having to cope with seeing all the children.

God is always there when times of crisis come but we focus on the evil other people are capable of.

The gunman pulled the trigger of the guns and according to reports this far, he was shooting at random. Why he did it we may never be able to understand but even knowing why will not change the outcome. We do know that parents loved their children and their children loved them. We do know that teachers wanted to give these children a bright future as they hoped one day these children would grow up to change the world for the better. We do know that the members of the police force and emergency responders cared about the members of their community enough that they were willing to risk their lives for them. While evil did surface this day, love did as well.

If you are a member of the clergy don't give them easy answers or try to back out of giving any answers at all. They don't need you to fix them right now but help them cope with this horror and listen to them. Don't tell them one of the stupidest things I've ever heard come out of the mouth of a pastor, "God only gives us what we can handle" because when you tell them something that sickening you are telling them that God either did it to them or He allowed it to teach them a lesson. If you think that gives anyone comfort ask yourself how you'd feel hearing that. To be there for them you have to really be there for them, all of you. Your ears must listen, your heart must feel and your prayers for them must include God giving you the right words to come out your mouth to actually give some comfort to them even if it is tiny compared to the depth of their pain.

Massacre of children leaves many asking, 'Where’s God?'
By Dan Gilgoff and Eric Marrapodi, CNN Belief Blog Co-Editors
December 14, 2012 06:17 PM ET

(CNN) – As he waited with parents who feared that their kids were among the 20 children killed at a Connecticut elementary school on Friday, Rabbi Shaul Praver said the main thing he could do for parents was to merely be present.

“It’s a terrible thing, families waiting to find out if their children made it out alive,” said Praver, who leads a synagogue in Newtown, Connecticut, and was among nine clergy gathered with parents at a firehouse near Sandy Hook Elementary School, where the shooting occurred.

“They’re going to need a lot of help,” Praver said of those who are close to the dead.

From the first moments after Friday’s massacre, which also left six adults and the shooter dead, religious leaders were among the first people to whom worried and grieving families turned for help.

Over the weekend, countless more Americans will look to clergy as they struggle to process a tragedy in which so many of the victims were children.

“Every single person who is watching the news today is asking ‘Where is God when this happens?’” says Max Lucado, a prominent Christian pastor and author based in San Antonio.

Indeed, many religious leaders on Friday stressed that the important thing is for clergy to support those who are suffering, not to rush into theological questions. A University of Connecticut professor on Friday hung up the phone when asked to discuss religious responses to suffering, saying, “This is an immense tragedy, and you want an academic speculating on the problem of evil?”

“There is no good answer at that time that anyone can hear and comprehend and take in,” said Ian T. Douglas, the bishop for the Episcopal diocese of Connecticut, referring to counseling family and friends of the dead. “They’re crying out from a place of deep pain.” read more here

Shooting at Connecticut Elementary School

Breaking news, check back with CNN for more information.
Shooting reported at Connecticut elementary school
CNN
December 14th, 2012
11:19 AM ET
A shooting has been reported at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut Emergency services are on the scene

President Obama live at 3:15 grieving along with the rest of the nation "our hearts are broken today."

As reports came out during the early hours the last reports are:

The gunman is the 24 year old son of the kindergarten teacher killed.
7 other adults were killed.
18 children killed.
3 wounded.
First responders were clearly shaken and most of them were from this small community.

Check back with CNN for more later. Please hold all of the families in your prayers.

UPDATE 3:36
Connecticut Governor Dannel Malloy
"Earlier today a number of our citizens, beautiful children had their lives taken away from them."

Lt. Paul Vance, State Police confirmed
27 killed 18 Children dead at school, 2 died at the hospital
7 Adults dead.
Secondary crime scene with another person connected to this has been found dead.
UPDATE 6:59

27 Dead, Including 20 Children, At Sandy Hook School Shooting In Newtown
The Hartford Courant Staff
6:47 p.m. EST, December 14, 2012
NEWTOWN

Twenty-seven people, including 20 children, are dead after a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Another person was found dead at 36 Yogananda St. in Newtown, sources told The Courant, and the gunman was found dead inside the school.

The shootings at the school took place in two rooms, one of which is a kindergarten classroom, sources said. One entire classroom is unaccounted for.

The report also stated that the shooter's Mom was not killed in the classroom but at home.

Both teens were hit with the same bullet from dropped backpack

Jan. 18, 2011
Girl Critical after School Shooting Near L.A.
Gun Discharged at School after Student Dropped Backpack Carrying It, School Principal Says
AP) Updated at 9:37 p.m. ET

LOS ANGELES - A gun in a 10th grader's backpack discharged Tuesday when he dropped the bag, wounding two students at a high school, including one who remained in critical condition, police said.

Both teens were hit with the same bullet, Los Angeles deputy police chief Patrick Gannon said.

John Deasy, deputy superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, said there was no indication the student with the backpack had touched the gun before it discharged.

"He literally dropped his knapsack on the desk and it went off," Deasy said.

read more here
Girl Critical after School Shooting Near L.A.

Deer Creek Middle School shooter mumbling "I'm fighting for freedom"

Freedom? Trying to kill kids? Taking away their sense of security? Terrorizing them? Making teachers and parents and neighbors frantically try to save lives? Is this what he meant by "fighting for freedom" or was he talking about being free from being a human with any kind of conscience?

A parent who saw the incident told KMGH that the gunman kept mumbling, "I'm fighting for freedom. I'm fighting for freedom," as he was being subdued.

School shooting suspect identified
February 24, 2010 8:53 a.m. EST
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
Bruco Strongeagle Eastwood, 32, arrested in shootings of two students
Gunfire begins as middle school classes end for the day
Math teacher/coach tackles suspect, confiscates gun before police arrive
Incident was in same area of Colorado as 1999 Columbine rampage


RELATED TOPICS


Colorado


School Shootings


Columbine High School
(CNN) -- The man suspected of shooting two students at a Littleton, Colorado, middle school was identified as 32-year-old Bruco Strongeagle Eastwood, authorities said Wednesday.
Eastwood was arrested after the incident Tuesday at Deer Creek Middle School and is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday morning, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. He is facing two counts of attempted first-degree murder, the sheriff's office said.
He is accused of shooting two students as classes were letting out at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday.
David Benke, a 6-foot-5 former college basketball player who is a math teacher and track coach, tackled the suspected gunman as he was preparing to fire again, CNN affiliate KMGH reported.

Student Fires At Teacher, Then Shoots Self

Student Fires At Teacher, Then Shoots Self
Lafourche Parish Middle School Student Hospitalized With Gunshot Wound
POSTED: 9:27 am CDT May 18, 2009
LAROSE, La. -- A student at the Larose/Cut Off Middle School in Lafourche Parish has been hospitalized after trying to shoot a teacher and then shooting himself in the head, the sheriff said.
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http://www.wdsu.com/news/19491574/detail.html

UPDATE
Journal indicates gunman may have had bigger plans

05:31 PM CDT on Monday, May 18, 2009
Katie Moore / Eyewitness Newskmoore@wwltv.com
LAROSE, La. ― The 15-year-old 8th grader who fired a shot into a ceiling at Larose-Cut Off Middle School before turning the gun on himself may have had more ambitious plans that were detailed in a loose-leaf journal found inside his backpack.
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Journal indicates gunman may have had bigger plans

Teen faces first-degree murder in Dillard High School slaying

Teen faces first-degree murder in Dillard slaying

Shooting suspect Teah Wimberly, has been charged with first-degree murder and one count of discharging a weapon on school property for Wednesday's slaying at Dillard High School. - Updated 29 minutes ago
BY ADAM H. BEASLEY, HANNAH SAMPSON AND JENNIFER MOONEY PIEDRA
jmooney@MiamiHerald.com
A 10th-grader was fatally shot as classes were underway at Dillard High School in Fort Lauderdale Wednesday afternoon, and another 15-year-old armed with a chrome, semiautomatic handgun was arrested shortly afterward, authorities said.

The victim, identified as Amanda Collette, was rushed to Broward General Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead, both police and school district officials confirmed. She was shot in the torso, authorities said.

The shooting suspect, a sophomore named Teah Wimberly, was being questioned -- with her grandfather by her side -- at police headquarters and has been charged with first-degree murder and one count of discharging a weapon on school property.
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Girl dies after possible school shooting in Fort Lauderdale

Girl dies after possible school shooting in Fort Lauderdale
By Ihosvani Rodriguez and Kathy Bushouse | SunSentinel.com
1:28 PM EST, November 12, 2008
FORT LAUDERDALE - A Dillard High School junior has died after a possible shooting on campus this morning, Superintendent James Notter said.

Notter confirmed the 15-year-old girl's death. He said he believed the shooting occurred in a school hallway after some sort of dispute with another 15-year-old female student around 11 a.m., but police still aren't sure exactly what.

The victim was found unresponsive in the hallway, but an initial examination found no evidence of a major wound, police spokesman Sgt. Frank Sousa said.

As police arrived, dispatchers got a call from Captain Crab's, a nearby restaurant, reporting that another girl may have been involved in a shooting, Sousa said.
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Children traumatized in aftermath of NIU shooting

Children traumatized in aftermath of NIU shooting
By Robert McCoppin Daily Herald Staff

The shootings at Northern Illinois University last winter targeted college students, but it turns out children were among the victims.

Although it didn't have precise numbers, the lead agency that's handling mental health counseling in DeKalb says it saw a nearly 100 percent increase in psychiatric hospitalizations of children following the Feb. 14 shooting.

Some veterans being treated for post traumatic stress disorder also were particularly affected by the shootings. And of the 4,000 people the Ben Gordon Center treats, President and CEO Michael Flora said, almost every one was somehow affected by the tragedy.

Many of the people the center treated were already patients undergoing treatment for various mental health problems, whose conditions got worse in reaction to the shootings.

go here for more

http://www.dailyherald.com/story/?id=229661&src=5

Shooting witnesses traumatized

Chaplain: Shooting witnesses traumatized
MLive.com - MI,USA
A Saginaw County police and fire chaplain says that's normal, but parents should watch their children for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
Chaplain: Shooting witnesses traumatized
Posted by LaNIA COLEMAN/THE SAGINAW NEWS
October 25, 2007 07:37AM
The effects could linger for weeks for the 300 people who shared a traumatic experience when a middle school football game erupted into gunfire in Saginaw.
A Saginaw County police and fire chaplain says that's normal, but parents should watch their children for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Some things that parents should watch for and monitor immediately and for about 30 days are sleep disturbances, a fear of returning to school, eating disorders, nausea, nervousness, a lot of extraordinary anxiety, behavior patterns that are not normal for their particular young person," said Richard Popard, a chaplain for Saginaw Township's police and fire departments.
"Parents should reassure children when they have these symptoms that they're not going crazy. Their body is acting normally to an abnormal circumstance. It's not normal for us to see a shooting. It's just not normal."
An Arthur Hill High School student remained in criticial condition this morning at Covenant Medical Center. Bullets struck him and three others -- two parents and another Arthur Hill student -- when a gunman opened fire during a football game at South Middle School, on the city's West Side.
About 300 spectators attended the game; the shots broke out during halftime.
Popard is part of the township's critical incident stress debriefing team, which helps officers and firefighters cope with work-related trauma.