I’m a survivor

Sun., Feb. 25, 2018

I am a school shooting survivor. When I was thirteen, a classmate shot three students next to me, as well as my teacher. Three of them died.

My parents accompanied me to my classroom two days afterwards. They saw three empty seats right next to mine. They faced parents of children who did not survive - one was my next-door neighbor. They cried. We cried. Our parents stared while they absorbed how close we had been to losing our lives and what we had seen.

No one should have to go through this, yet mass shootings are happening every day, the targets more fragile and body counts are higher than ever, afforded by the lethality of assault weapons.

Let’s make Washington state a place known to value and protect our teachers and children. Legislators, please bring SSB 5444 to a vote and approve it.

Emily Fulton

Airway Heights

Letters policy

The Spokesman-Review invites original letters on local topics of public interest. Your letter must adhere to the following rules:

No more than 250 words
We reserve the right to reject letters that are not factually correct, racist or are written with malice.
We cannot accept more than one letter a month from the same writer.
With each letter, include your daytime phone number and street address.
The Spokesman-Review retains the nonexclusive right to archive and re-publish any material submitted for publication.

Unfortunately, we don’t have space to publish all letters received, nor are we able to acknowledge their receipt. (Learn more.)

Submit letters using any of the following:

Our online form: Submit your letter here
Mail: Letters to the Editor
The Spokesman-Review
999 W. Riverside Ave.
Spokane, WA 99201
Email: editor@spokesman.com
Fax: (509) 459-3815
Phone: (509) 459-5430