My poor daughter was *terrorized* on her softball field yesterday!

[transparant]

I was going to post this last night...but I really just needed to calm down for a while.

Yesterday - while my 13 yr. old DD was at softball practice - a man in his 20's or 30's started walking towards her pointing a GUN at her!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She immediately thought "Oh my God...I'm going to die!" Than he turned and started walking towards the baseball field and than towards the soccer field. The kids were all evacuated off of the field and locked in the school with the lights off.

The man went into the woods and shot the gun a few times. He was than caught by the police and is in jail....there is a trial on Friday.

I called the school this morning for more information - and they told me he had a pellet gun. From what I understand the gun looks very similar to this..(I don't know about you - but I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference between this and a real gun)

Thank God nobody got hurt - but this guy scared the you know what out of my poor daughter! She was shaking like a leaf when I picked her up! A few girls on the soccer team were really shakin up too.

I'm still so angry right now.

 

[Maleficent13]

OMG...there are no words...I bet your DD got a lot of hugs last night...I know mine would have...I'd have kept her attached to me!

 

[tarmand]

Why on earth did he do that? Is he mentally unstable? - Well obviously he is, but did he give a reason? I can't stand those pellet guns that look like real guns. I think all toy guns should have to be neon green or orange or something obvious.

 

[wdwgirl03]

OMG!!! I'm glad everyone is OK!

 

[gris gris]

The man went into the woods and shot the gun a few times. He was than caught by the police and is in jail....there is a trial on Friday.

How scary! You had to call the school to get info this morning? The school didn't give out any info yesterday while this was happening or right after it was over? What an awful feeling for a parent (and to imagine how scared the kids were).

A trial on Friday.....boy your law enforcement works quick where you are.

 

[RUDisney]

Thank heavens no one was hurt! Keep giving your DD lots of hugs. I hope the school brings in some counselors to help get things straight in the kids' heads. I'm sure many of them are as scared as your DD.

I so wish we could go back to the days when we were young and able to go anywhere and feel safe!

 

[gypsydoodlebug]

Oh, your poor DD! Doesn't matter if it was a pellet gun –– when you're staring down the barrel of it. The world is so much more different than it was when I was growing up in even the 1980s. You always think "stuff like that doesn't happen here" and then it does.

Hope she takes it easy.

 

[dvcfamily41801]

OMG, poor girl. Thankfully all is okay.

 

[transparant]

How scary! You had to call the school to get info this morning? The school didn't give out any info yesterday while this was happening or right after it was over? What an awful feeling for a parent (and to imagine how scared the kids were).

A trial on Friday.....boy your law enforcement works quick where you are.

Thats what I thought too! I thought a trial on Friday sounded a bit quick too - maybe the secretary at the school got that info wrong.

 

[dadto1]

I'm so sorry for your daughter. When I first saw the pic it looks exactly like the .380 pistol I own. He's lucky the police didn't shoot him. I hope the guy gets the appropriate treatment as he obviously has some mental problems.

 

[Evil Queen]

How scary, glad all are physically ok. I agree they need to bring someone for the kids to speak with.

I've heard a couple of stories where they have taken the toy guns that have bright colors on them and paint over them to make them look real. You just can't know anymore what's real or not.

 

[kdibattista]

to you and your daughter. I'm sure you will but please keep a close watch on her. It doesn't matter if it was a fake or not... she's probably going to a tough time dealing with this when the initial shock wears off

 

[Nancy]

Oh your poor daughter! I'm thinking the trial is just a preliminary thing to see if they will press more serious charges against him...not the actual trial.

As for the gun looking real, I was robbed at gun point and the first question the police asked me was if I was sure it was a "real" gun. All I know is it looked real to me and I certainly wasn't going to ask the person robbing me if it was real! Scared the pants off me and I was in my 30's, I couldn't even imagine it when I was really young.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Kids in our neighborhood have the Airsoft guns, or whatever they are called. Some have the orange tips, but some look so real.

How scary for your DD!

They must not have meant a trial, but a hearing or something. Maybe that's when they will charge him. I'm sure a lawyer could chime in with what it's really called. Thankfully they caught him and the guy is very lucky they didn't shoot first and ask questions later.

 

[robinb]

Oh man! I'm sorry she had to go through that. How scary.

It just goes to show you that you cannot predict what a crazy person will do and you can't protect against that kind of thing.

 

[CEDmom]

I can't even imagine how scary that was for her. I hope the school brings in counselors to help all the kids deal with this. to your family.

 

[Stitchfans]

That was terrible. So sorry your DD experienced that. I can't imagine what was going through all thsoe kids heads when they where locked up in their school. So glad it turned out well.

 

[laura001]

Oh my! You are right when you say you couldn't tell the difference in the gun, as far as I am concerned a gun is a gun. Your poor DD, hopefully she recovers from this trauma and it doesn't affect her longterm.

 

[kelleigh1]

It's probably what they call a preliminary hearing and not the actual trial. I believe the preliminary hearing would be used to determine if they should continue to hold him and/or whether bail should be set.

Hope your daughter is feeling a little better today, although I imagine that the vision of him coming at her is not going to go away anytime soon. If the school doesn't provide some counseling, I would suggest getting her to a counselor just to help her deal with the post-traumatic stress. As much as you want to, you won't be able to help her through this completely. You're just too close to her to provide her with the help that she needs. Good luck to you both!!

 

[mrsltg]

Thats what I thought too! I thought a trial on Friday sounded a bit quick too - maybe the secretary at the school got that info wrong.

Maybe she meant the arraignment was on Friday? No way a trial could be brought that quickly. He hasn't even been charged yet.

Sorry for the horrible experience. Your poor dd.