Mass shooting survivors face physicial and mental trauma, but perhaps worst of all, their sense of security is 'shattered'

The plaques are part of a memorial to the seven victims in
Highland Park, Illinois. (Photo by Roger Schneider, AP)

Mass shootings have stripped away much of what Americans always felt were public safety zones. Shooting survivors say the loss, fear and trauma never leave them, reports Claire Savage of The Associated Press. "Since 2016, thousands of Americans have been wounded in mass shootings, and tens of thousands by gun violence, with that number continuing to grow, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Beyond the colossal medical bills and the weight of trauma and grief, mass shooting survivors and family members contend with scores of other changes that upend their lives."

In speaking with individuals and families, Savage explores the aftermath of mass shootings. She writes, "Survivors talked about the mental and physical wounds that endure in the aftermath of shootings in Uvalde; Las Vegas; Colorado Springs, Colorado; and the Chicago suburb of Highland Park, Illinois, during a July Fourth parade last year."

The Zamora family, whose 11-year-old daughter Maya was airlifted out of Uvalde, Texas, after being critically injured in the Robb Elementary school shooting, shared a glimpse of how much the shooting changed their lives forever. Savage reports, "Mayah suffered wounds to her chest, back, both hands, face and ear, and needed so many surgeries her parents said they stopped counting. The family relocated to San Antonio, where Mayah spent 66 days in the hospital and still needs care. A year later, Christina and Mayah's father, Ruben, said they didn't know what bills would be covered by insurance. When Mayah was discharged, they realized one parent needed to stay home to care for her." Mayah's mother, Christina, told Savage: "Her hospital bill is insane. It reaches close to $1,000,000, maybe over." 

Leah Sundheim, 29, was a night manager at a hotel in Las Vegas when "she got 'the worst phone call you can ever receive," Savage writes."Her mother, Jacquelyn Sundheim, had been killed at a shooting during Highland Park's 2022 Fourth of July parade, along with six other people. . . . Mass shootings cause a variety of trauma, she said. Her experience is different from that of her aunt and cousins, who were sitting next to Jacquelyn Sundheim when she died." Sundheim told Savage: "That flight home broke me. . . . [trauma] shatters the sense of security that you have in the world."

From Las Vegas to Highland Park, shooting survivors impart unique losses and a common fear that nowhere is safe. "So far in 2023, nearly 400 people in the U.S. have been wounded in mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive," Savage reports. "And 140 people have died in mass killings this year, which is on track to surpass 2019, the deadliest year on record for mass killings since 2006," according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in a partnership with Northeastern University.