Dark day for the queen city

When I walked into work Tuesday, I didn't know what was going to happen. All I thought was that I was running a few minutes late, and that maybe I'd make another coffee when i got inside the station. It started out as a nice day, it was a coworker's birthday. A few hours later, we heard — there was an active shooter on UNC Charlotte's campus.

I think in that moment, a lot of people knew it was the real deal. It was like a switch went off. We came together as a team, doing everything possible to get answers and bring it to the public.

When I got home late that night, I hadn't had much time to process it all. I drove home in silence, for two reasons, really: 1. It was the first extended amount of time I'd had to think about what happened and 2. It was out of respect for the lives lost. Once I was home, I wrote an email to two professors at my alma mater JMU that helped shape me as a journalist. I said, "these are the stories you hope as a journalist you never have to cover, but they happen. And they suck."

My heart goes out to all those impacted by Tuesday's events. Two lives were lost, four individuals were seriously injured, and countless lives were forever changed. It was the last day of classes, with graduation just around the corner. I can't begin to imagine how the university community must feel.

One thing that stuck out to me that night was the outpouring of love and care from the community. I had marked myself 'safe' on Facebook because a handful of people reached out to me. (This, I should note, was the second time in my memory that loved ones have been concerned for my safety — the first being when a hostage situation unfolded in my college apartment building, directly two floors below where I lived.) When I marked myself safe, I quickly scanned to see if anyone else I knew had done the same. Underneath those names, I saw several posts of outreach; people were offering shelter, a ride, food and water to anyone impacted that was looking for a safe place.

In times of darkness, it's good to be able to see some light coming through the cracks.

I'm still processing what all happened, honestly, and I'm sure I will be for some time. But I'm thankful for the community that came together to make it through. #CharlotteStrong