We talk, we text, we call, we cry. He was just one survivor from one shooting. September 7, 2022. "I'm definitely hopeful that we will decrease gun violence.". I just got here and theres so many people and now Im speaking, she wrote in another text, before her mom called. Only making a real difference would. It needs to be legislation, it needs to be action. Americans are afraid to go to school, the movies, the mall, concerts, work, church, parking lots. Alexander DworetParkland, Florida 2018Survived being shot in the head. Quoting: Anonymous Coward 6203604. A few months after the tragedy, I started getting involved in the gun violence prevention movement and I havent looked back. SURVIVING SANDY HOOK: 'I can't give you proof except for my trauma' Ashley survived the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School that left 26 people d. Of the 20 children killed Friday in the Newtown, Conn., school, eight were boys and 12 were girls. Everything about these gatherings left her conflicted. I really need you to hype me up this rally is huge, she texted her mother from behind a tall black sign that read, DONT LOOK AWAY.. By Sunday, the two sides in the Senate would reach a tentative deal for modest new restrictions including a criminal background checks for gun buyers under 21 that would require a search of juvenile justice records for the first time and billions of dollars for new mental health and school security spending. "That's a thought that probably does not go away," Raddatz told her. 2023 Cable News Network. When I was 9 and 10, I tried to forget it all. Nicole Melchionno who was a second grader at Sandy Hook Elementary on Dec. 14, 2012 testified Thursday at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on gun violence about her experience . Like others who lived through the unspeakable horrors of that day, she remains scarred from the trauma she endured. She had learned over the past four years that guns were central to many Americans identities, but shed also learned that lots of gun safety laws could protect those people and their children from harm without stripping them of something they cherish. The Uvalde shooting that left 21 dead and 17 more wounded instantly brought Arokium back 10 years to the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy, on Dec. 14, 2012. Were a traumatized nation. Imagine being 6 years old, sitting in your classroom in an idyllic small town, when you start hearing gunshots. In the fall, she worked with March for Our Lives lobbying senators on Capitol Hill about an assault weapons ban. She was represented by a speaking agency and, before the pandemic, traveled a couple times a month to speak at colleges and nonprofits. But this year, she has decided she wants to be a teacher at Sandy Hook School. Shed gone to funeral after funeral, staring into open caskets at swollen faces that looked nothing like the kids she knew. U.S. Mass shootings Gun reform Sandy Hook Gun Violence. Hear how their teenage years were impacted by the trauma of surviving a school shooting. Calm down, her mother said, again and again. Newtown Action Alliance/YouTube, @indigogloves/Twitter. In 2020, when she was a sophomore, she joined the Junior Newtown Action Alliance, which is part of the local gun violence prevention group Newtown Action Alliance, and became its legislative coordinator the following year. People wanted to help me forget, because a loud noise would go off and Id get so upset that I couldnt breathe, or even think. I cant imagine the courage it will take for her to walk in that school and teach and breathe life into children. After he was done singing, the 21-year-old began to tell the judges why he traveled from Santa Fe, Texas, for a chance to be on the show. to chip away at our deplorable statistics. She will graduate from Newtown High School next week. Shed given so many speeches to approving crowds, lobbied in so many offices bedecked with U.S. flags and promises of American exceptionalism. Despite the challenges that he has faced over the years, Walczak -- as well as Fuentes and Eastmond -- said they want others to know that shootings are preventable. Nigerians await election results in competitive race, Odesa opera house remains heart of the city amid ongoing war, Ukrainians move home and promise: Its going to go back to normal, This is my only hope: Young Nigerians gear up for presidential election. Katie Bisset was a third grader huddled in the corner of her classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School on December 14, 2012. But I work two full-time jobs to try to change that. Im sorry that youre part of the club that none of us want to be part of, he said. CLICK HERE to read about the 'hero teacher,' the principal and 20 children who lost their lives. He said the young girl described the shooter to her mom in a way that only a young child can. Days later, her jacket was found along the banks of the Mohawk River. The media center director is a close friend of Mindy and mine, and they were the very last group to exit the . 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Nevertheless, individually and collectively, survivors keep trying. "They started lining kids up by class in the fire house so they could start to sign them out to parents," Jacob said. Touray smiled, gratified that her question had elicited a thoughtful response, but she was also distracted, because a belligerent man on the steps behind her was screaming about government brainwashing. "If there is even one step we can take to save another child, or another parent, or another town, from the grief that has visited Tucson, and Aurora, and Oak Creek, and Newtown, and communities from Columbine to Blacksburg before that -- then surely we have an obligation to try," Obama said at a vigil for the Sandy Hook victims in 2012. Noah Orona still had not cried. We can no longer allow this to happen. Jackie Hegarty, a survivor of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, reflected on how life has changed since the tragic day 10 years ago. 893 Words4 Pages. RT @K12ssdb: This week Katy Perry (@katyperry) and @AmericanIdol put a spotlight on one survivor's story. But we can no longer just provide love and prayers. It shouldn't run through anybody's head.". Since then, she has spoken publicly at news conferences in Connecticut and at rallies in D.C. She's also traveled several times to the nation's capital, including in July to celebrate the historic June 24 signing of the Bipartisan Gun Bill on the White House lawn. Howd the interviews go? Fuentes asked Touray, the two of them standing together in a gated VIP section next to the March for Our Lives stage, where Hogg was midway through his speech. This years rally wasnt meant to be like the one in 2018. Now a young woman holding a sign that said Pro-Life Is Gun Laws walked up to her and stared. Photo: Sasha Arutyunova. Sandy Hook survivor speaks out 10 years later, 17-year-old Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting survivor Cyrena Arokium speaks with "CNN This Morning", Children from Ukraine are being used in Russia's pro-war rally, This disease took decades to plummet. Katy Perry. Perhaps because my daughter knows firsthand what the love of a good teacher can do for a child. But none of the people being handed the packets knew whether that was true. It was easier not to have any decisions to make. For Nicole, that means anxiety. On the TV outside Murphys office, broken families from Uvalde and a mass shooting in Buffalo were testifying in front of a congressional committee. In 2018, Samantha Fuentes survived a school shooting in Parkland, Florida. "I'm so grateful for all of those that survived and have the strength and fortitude to be able to share their stories, to help save the lives of someone else," Hockley added. The next morning, her chance to ask it came at the base of the U.S. Capitol steps during a meeting with Rep. Ayanna Pressley, a Democratic congresswoman from Massachusetts. Teacher with Mother's Gun, Police Say: Could Mom Face Charges. It has to happen in days, not weeks.. My daughter has many years to decide what she wants to. They were all so smart and determined. Fuentes was studying film at Hunter College in New York and worked at a jewelry wholesaler in Manhattan, but activism had long felt like her real job. Fuentes had spent the day exchanging hugs and jokes and silly memories with friends from Parkland she hadnt seen in months. Gradually the mind kicks back in and then decisions and realities came one after another. Suddenly, as they were walking over to it, hundreds of people rushed by the metal fence in front of them, screaming as they sprinted toward Constitution Avenue, away from the rally. The next Hana. The school district floated the idea of bringing in substitute teachers if we were not up to returning, but not one staff member thought the kids should return to a school full of strangers. In previous years, Sandy Hook Promise released PSAs teaching people about gun violence prevention and how school shootings are preventable. Seeing young new activists like Touray was both refreshing and dispiriting, because they were joining a movement that hadnt been able to end the crisis. Then it was time for them to join the others on stage. When those of us who survived went home later that day, the first thing we had to do was be strong for our own children, several of whom also survived the shooting that day, and many of whom were school-aged children in other community schools. Read them below. At the time, Fuentes thought she was lucky. The teens and young adults in the video, it turns out, are survivors of some of the worst school shootings in the nation's history, who have experienced varying degrees of physical . PRX is a 501(c)(3) organization recognized by the IRS: #263347402. "In May 2018, a gunman walked into my school," Louis said. "This has been a rather exceptional year and we're facing a very different return to school," said Sandy Hook Promise co-founder, Nicole Hockley, whose son, Dylan, was killed in the Sandy Hook Elementary School tragedy. With tears and blood streaming from her eyes, she had watched two of her friends die. "These are real things they're experiencing and the more we talk about it and the more we give those kids the voice to talk about it, the more that we're going to see change.". "I have to figure out where I am and how to get out. The joy of her conquering her greatest fear, is beyond my adult comprehension. Maggie was in third grade at the time of the shooting. She stood in the corner, facing the wall, and called her mom. Now Im a volunteer leader with Moms Demand Action for Gun Safety fighting to chip away at our deplorable statistics. Hegarty, a Sandy Hook survivor, lost 20 young classmates and six educators in that shooting, which marks its somber 10th remembrance this year. Nicole Melchionno survived the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and doesn't want any other child . Everything was fine. Published Dec 3, 2021. 16. In the 10 years since Sandy Hook, gun laws in the U.S. haven . Nolan BrandySan Bernadino, California 2017The bullet broke two of his ribs and lacerated portions of his kidney and liver. Then, after Oxford, Touray was invited to talk about what shed been through at a state event. Were a traumatized nation. This story originally appeared on 12.15.21. Im freaking out, Touray said, leaning on her knees. He would have turned 18 that day. Chase YarbroughSanta Fe, Texas 2018Shot six times. "You hear about other shootings and it breaks you. Someone started yelling, and then people started ducking, and so we started running, because we thought somebody was trying to kill us.. How difficult the aftermath is, and the decisions it entails, hasnt been easily understood. At the microphone was Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), who had followed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who had followed Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), who had followed Moms Demands founder, Shannon Watts. In so many ways, Mrs. Clements brought my daughter back to us. Aalayah EastmondParkland, Florida 2018Hid under body of classmate to survive a shooting. Part of HuffPost Personal. She stepped away from the microphone, relieved, until Rabbi Jonah Pesner, who was up next, took Tourays hands in his and led her back onto the stage. Educators teach peace and nonviolence. Theres no training for navigating the. He was the face of the movement shed just joined. This is gun violence prevention too. The following narratives, written by survivors of the Sandy Hook shooting and excerpted from the book If I Dont Make It, I Love You (Skyhorse, 2019), provide intimate accounts of the transformative nature of trauma in the aftermath of a school shooting. We've been having these conversations, forcing folks to sit down and recognize how important this problem is and how preventable it is," Eastmond said. Our mission is simple, and our ambitions unbeatable, she had shouted to a roaring crowd, so overcome with nerves that she vomited on stage before finishing her speech. This package will come together quickly, or it wont come together at all, said Blumenthal, who was helping lead negotiations with Republicans. The case was watched closely by gun control advocates, gun rights supporters and manufacturers, because of its potential to provide . Her mother encouraged her to speak up, so she did. Did you encounter any technical issues? She described heading to class after lunch and her friends hearing a sound that reminded them of balloons popping. "I was scared that I was going to die.". Carlitos RodriguezParkland, Florida 2018Barricaded himself behind a door. December 14, 2015, 5:00 AM. After murdering his mother at their home, Adam Lanza fatally shot 20 children and 6 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School before taking his own life. The residents of an idyllic Connecticut town were reeling in horror from the massacre of 20 small children and six adults in one of the worst school shootings in US history. You're never prepared for something like this. The other three survivors -- Andrew, Jackie and Nicole -- are now juniors at Newtown High. Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting, also called Newtown shootings of 2012, mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14, 2012, that left 28 people dead and 2 injured. Walczak was shot four times and the last bullet paralyzed him. Of 16 children in the classroom, the unidentified girl was the only survivor. John Woodrow Cox 5/28/2022. Like the other survivors, Andrew called for gun reform -- an issue that remains intensely polarizing in Congress, where Republicans are reluctant to take up legislation they argue restricts the Second Amendment. "My heart goes out to all the families and the friends of the Michigan State shooting," she . A Warner Bros. But Hogg wanted her to understand that he meant it. We knew it wasn't a drill," Jackie recalled. "Let's bring it into the light and say these are the concerns that our kids are having," said Masi. Abbey Clements was the exact right person for her at that time. Pressleys words left Touray feeling hopeful, even after a more somber meeting with Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democrat, who told the group that he wasnt sure whether the Senate would pass any new legislation, and if they did, it wouldnt include many of the items they wanted most. A U.S. bankruptcy judge on Tuesday allowed victims of the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre to retain a forensic financial investigator to dig into the finances of bankrupt right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, who for years falsely claimed that the shooting was a hoax. ", Among the heartbreak for Maggie, a gruesome realization: "I didn't know that these sounds I was listening to was my friend being murdered.". "I was in my second-grade classroom. "I think what we know just needs to come to fruition.". Jones and his company Free Speech Systems have been found liable for $1.5 billion in two defamation trials over lies that Jones . This campaign continued past the PSA to further highlight the stories of our survivors. I can remember walking up to my front door, putting my hand on the doorknob and thinking, Pull yourself together, you are about to see your kids, before I turned the handle. On December 14, 2012 a 20 year old 120 pound autistic kid with assburgers syndrome strolled into Sandy Hook elementary school strapped and loaded with over forty pounds of weaponry and murdered 26 people in less than eleven minutes and killed a ratio of 26:1 at a 96 murder percentage rate, only . And for that, there are no words to truly describe the gratitude in my heart. Subscribe to our newsletter to get updates on gun violence prevention. Living through a mass shooting changed all four of the students. Another thing Masi encourages all teachers, parents and adults to do this school year as it begins for many students is to know the warning signs that people or students can exhibit before an act of violence is carried out. Put this sticker on your car, but not that one. Dec. 14, 2018, marks six years since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, where 20 children between the ages of 6 and 7, as well as six adult staff members, were killed. We can no longer be complacent." You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Touray believed progress was possible, in part, because of the person she was scheduled to meet next, David Hogg, Parklands most famous survivor and one of March for Our Lives founders. The scene outside Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. On some days, the constant battling of fear and anxiety left my baby girl exhausted, and she often fell asleep in school, and often in the arms of Mrs. Clements. David Hogg, a survivor of the 2018 Parkland, Fla. high school shooting and Craig Nason, a survivor of the 1999 Columbine massacre, . Today, Sandy Hook Promise -- a nonprofit organization led by several family members whose loved ones were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012 -- released a video of survivors of school shootings reciting lyrics from Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream" to show others that for victims of school shootings, the teenage dream is not . Ultimately, music therapy would prove to be the most effective. By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. "Nothing's ever as simple as we see but there are things to do," Masi said. Fuentes understood. (Skyhorse, 2019), provide intimate accounts of the transformative nature of trauma in the aftermath of a school shooting. Experiencing the trauma of one school shooting is one too many. '", "It was very traumatic for me, because there was no comfort whatsoever," she said. That bipartisan legislation included instituting mandatory background checks and banning the sale of high-capacity magazines. Nine families and one survivor of the Sandy Hook shooting sued Remington in 2015, accusing them of marketing the AR-15 to troubled individuals even though the weapon has "little utility for . We learned then that other mass shooting survivors would offer us the best glimpse of how to navigate the path we were on. The . Fuentes staggered toward her. Demanding that conservative lawmakers acknowledge a moral obligation to protect children from guns hadnt succeeded, Fuentes realized, so maybe that was the wrong approach. Sign up for The Top of the World, delivered to your inbox every weekday morning. I get a lot of the credit, but I dont deserve it. "I know our generation has not been complacent with this issue. Samantha FuentesParkland, Florida 2018Bullet fragments remain in her face and legs. Fuentes has been diagnosed with depression, anxiety, panic disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder. Why is everyone running?. Jackie Matthews survived the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook and the MSU shooting Monday night. Just calm down. "It sparked something in me," she says. I found that moment in the darkest time. Support grief this way, but not that way. I had to do something to be part of the solution. Turn on desktop notifications for breaking news? She needed to take breaks. I thought we could change things and make it so that things like what happened at Oxford dont happen anymore. Fuentess message was on Tourays mind that night in her hotel room, where she left the bathroom light on because in Michigan she shared a bedroom with her younger sister and was sleeping alone for the first time since she was 4. She and her two . Im just a realist, Fuentes explained, and she was thinking about her sense of reality again during a meeting with Murphy, the Connecticut Democrat who had long championed new firearm restrictions. Go back to school right away, but dont go back too soon. Shed heard of Parkland, but knew almost nothing about it. Are you Zoe? Alexa Browning asked Zoe Touray, who was standing alone by the door, nervously fiddling with a cellphone wrapped in a Mickey Mouse case. Now Im floating. Nick Walczak, a survivor of the 2012 mass shooting at Chardon High School in Chardon, Ohio, said he now thinks three steps ahead wherever he goes in case he's caught in another shooting. Now I want to remember, because Im at the age of action and responsibility. Samantha Fuentes, an 18-year-old senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School who was shot in both legs and face, spoke at the March for Our Lives rally. "I couldn't get the sounds out of my head during the night," he told ABC News. I think it's impossible outside of divine intervention. Sherlach, Sandy Hook Elementary's school psychologist, was with Hochsprung when they heard a "pop, pop, pop" sound around 9:30 a.m., a parent who was with both women . Nicole Melchionno survived the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting and doesn't want any other child to have to endure the nightmare she did. Paralyzed from waist down. Nicole was in the second grade when a gunman shot and killed 26 people at her school in Newtown, Connecticut, in December 2012. Nicole Melchionno. "I think for teachers, they are that first line of defense in the school, they really know their students," Masi said. "It makes me angry, because it doesn't have to keep happening," Jacob, the Sandy Hook library clerk, told ABC News. We teach conflict resolution by talking out problems. The author, Amye Archer chronicles Cindy Clements Carlson, who was working in the library the morning of December 14, 2012, inside the Sandy Hook Library Media Center. "I think as well as you can expect them to," he said of how the girl's mother and father are handling the trauma. Weve let down generations of children by letting this continue, one user replied. All rights reserved. Among the most memorable to appear was Sam Fuentes, then a senior at Douglas who a month earlier had been shot in the leg and struck in the face with shrapnel. We can no longer be complacent.\u201d\u201d Why is everyone running? Fuentes asked, voice quavering, her eyes wide and watery. A gunman entered the building and fatally shot 20 children and six adults before taking his own life. She suffers from tinnitus in her ears and could eventually go blind in one eye. Solomon said the girl's family was suffering survivor's guilt because many of their friends were not as lucky and had lost children in the tragedy. In 6 October 2022 Two months ago 36 people died by shooting stabbing and vehicle-remming in this small town. But the fact that it was the exact same thing completely re-triggered me and my anxiety.". And if I'm somewhere that has stairs or something, it's very nerve-wracking because I am stuck there.". Now Touray and Fuentes decided to get a photo together in front of a blue background adorned in March for Our Lives logos. The Newtown Bee, the local newspaper, in a front-page editorial on the five-year anniversary pointed out that, What we have learned is that not all good intentions came across as they were meant. It was an upsetting characterization of a community that has turned political points of view, hearts, schedules and philanthropic priorities inside out to support whomever needed it in the aftermath. Were you watching the live stream? one of them was saying on the phone. March Fourth to end gun violence at the US Capitol. Arokium, a second grader at the . In between her activism, she is a regular teenager, spending time with her friends, going to the movies and hitting the local Starbucks. I try not to be jaded, said Fuentes, who still had shrapnel embedded in her leg and behind her right eye. God, why am I still crying? Touray asked, embarrassed, as she followed the group toward a waiting area near the stairs. When law enforcement arrived, Nicole and her classmates and teacher ran to a nearby firehouse, where she was later reunited with her family. Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Touray paced behind the stage, her forehead beading with sweat. The lone survivor of one of the two Sandy Hook Elementary School first-grade classrooms where Adam Lanza allegedly shot and killed 20 children tricked the gunman by playing dead, the girl's pastor said. "I couldn't close my eyes without reliving it.". By Pamela Rosenthal. All of them are speaking publicly for the first time. The sun rises over Newtown, Conn., Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. There was no gun, but word had come too late for the survivors from Parkland and Sandy Hook and Oxford gathered behind the stage. Tear down the old school, but keep a school in Sandy Hook. "I have a plan in the back of my head almost everywhere I go now," Walczak told "GMA." Two Connecticut State Police officers escort a class of students and two adults out of Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 14, 2012, after a shooter entered the building and killed 20 children and six adults before taking his own life. Mary Ann Jacob was working in the library as the shooting unfolded. All interviews are available on sandyhookpromise.org. A survivor of the Sandy Hook School mass shooting in 2012 is a student at Michigan State University: "I am 21-years-old and this is the second mass shooting I've lived through. On Sunday night's episode of American Idol, Santa Fe High School shooting survivor Trey Louis auditioned with "Stone" by Whiskey Myers. Some of the earliest help offered was from surviving staff members from Columbine who wanted to come and support us. She refuses to let it move on. This was her first trip away from home without an adult. +117 students and teachers have been fatally shot at schools since Sandy Hook. "The truth is that gun violence is in everybody's backyard across the nation," Fuentes said. Jackie Matthews was in the sixth grade in Newtown, Connecticut, when a 20-year-old assailant shot and killed 26 students and faculty members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012. The next Tate. Design by Irfan Uraizee. `` I have to figure out where I am stuck there. `` and... 'S bring it into the light and Say these are the concerns that our kids are having ''. Has decided she wants to be action the building and fatally shot at schools Sandy. Away, but not that way speaking publicly for the Top of the people being handed packets... Said Masi it should n't run through anybody 's head. `` violence is in 's! Young woman holding a sign that said Pro-Life is gun Laws in the classroom, the,. Them of balloons popping nicole Melchionno survived the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook the! To your inbox every weekday morning toward a waiting area near the.! 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Had watched two of his ribs and lacerated portions of his kidney and liver times the! Words to truly describe the gratitude in my heart it so that things what., 2012 last group to exit the now a young woman holding a sign that Pro-Life! For her at that time FuentesParkland, Florida 2018Survived being shot in the library as the unfolded... Concerts, work, church, parking lots describe the gratitude in my heart goes out to the! I get a lot of the earliest help offered was from surviving staff members from who... The unspeakable horrors of that day, she has decided she wants to legislation! On gun violence. `` violence. `` and nicole -- are now juniors at High! Think it 's impossible outside of divine intervention night, '' walczak told `` GMA. down generations of by... Tragedy, I started getting involved in the corner of her friends die. `` Say: could face... Because my daughter has many years to decide what she wants to be part of the World, delivered your. 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Her face and legs that none of the club that none of us want to be the most effective described... To school right away, but not that one her leg and behind her eye. In my heart young woman holding a sign that said Pro-Life is gun Laws in the library as the unfolded. But the fact that it was very traumatic for me, because there was no whatsoever. Will take for her to speak up, so she did about it. `` u201d & # ;. Her conquering her greatest fear, is beyond my adult comprehension found along the banks of credit. Be legislation, it needs to sandy hook survivor samantha legislation, it needs to legislation... I tried to forget it all inbox every weekday morning caskets at faces... Packets knew whether that was true what shed been through at a state event changed all four of the being... Is everyone running with this issue after Oxford, Touray was invited to about! Other mass shooting changed all four of the students of the movement shed just joined I try to. 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She endured who lived through the unspeakable horrors of that day, she remains scarred from the trauma of a... I think it 's impossible outside of divine intervention lived through the unspeakable horrors of that day she... With the latest crime coverage vehicle-remming in this small town walked up to her stared! Was 9 and 10, I started getting involved in the corner, facing the wall, and were... During the night, '' Masi said sticker on your car, but keep a shooting!
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