Unthinkable Tragedy

Grandma Stella reflects on the recent news of a teenage murderer and recalls a past experience with a friend’s death. She grapples with questions about the nature of such violent acts and the pain left behind in their wake.

These past few days, on the news the talk seems to be all about the teenager who had entered a random supermarket, in a random town and killed ten unsuspecting innocent people. I am bewildered, all I could think was why? Why would anyone, let alone, young man in the prime of his life, get such an evil urge to kill?

Many years ago, a friend of mine was dying of cancer. She had reached the end. She was in great pain, but still she would not let go, for she was a single mother and she had a young son. She worried about him. It was horrible to watch her. She yearned to die and end all her suffering, yet she did not want to abandoned her child. She struggled. Someone told me to tell her it’s okay to go. When she asked me if she was dying. I reluctantly answered that yes, that it was time for her to go to the arms of Our Maker. I assured her that her teenage son will be okay. By the next morning she was gone. That was thirty something years ago. To this day I question myself. Who gave me the right to give her that permission? To this day I am haunted by what I did. I am not God! I am a mere mortal!

So, now I ask myself how could that teenager go into a convenient store and randomly kill innocent people, people he did not know? They were people going about their everyday lives. What possessed him to commit such a heinous deed? Why in heaven’s name did he do that? Not only has he abruptly cut their lives short. He also ruined his own young life. It is incomprehensible to me to imagine such a deed! What makes anyone do that? I shudder just to think of it…

I pray for the souls of those people. I offer deep condolences to their families. I imagine the excruciating pain their loved ones are going through and wish them strength. Their journey is so very arduous.