EWU is just a few blocks from the Dollar General where Palmeter traveled and opened fire after being rebuffed by campus security. “I spend a lot of time on that campus,” Johnson said. “So, this isn’t close to home. This is home.”
The community is grappling with the heartbreak and the college is haunted by “what ifs.” People are stunned and angry that a white man would drive specifically to their community to commit havoc.
“Something has to be done about the legacy of racism in this city, and how it still lingers so strongly throughout the city,” Johnson said.
Mayor Donna Deegan, speaking at an event commemorating the 63rd anniversary of Ax Handle Saturday, when 200 white men attacked Black youths who protested so then could dine at an all-white establishment, said the shooting in her city gave her “a sense of personal failure. . . We have to create a place and space for all of us to see each other’s humanity, for us to meet each other where we are.”
During the prayer vigil on the EWU campus Sunday night, a thought came to student Jordan Weeks that startled her.
What if the shooter had not been turned away by security?
“It just hit me and it really scared me,” said Weeks, a junior. “As it was, the vigil was very sad. But if he had gotten on campus and done what he intended to do, it all would have been totally different. If the shooter had gotten to the cafeteria, we would have been mourning classmates and friends that we built a bond with over the years.
“It’s scary because we know that our families drop us off thinking that their children are safe. To think something like that could happen to us, it messes with your head a little bit.”
Campus security was beefed up significantly, with police presence at all entrances. “I still feel safe to a certain degree, because security has been tightened,” Weeks said. “But the thought that this could happen again in… it’s the back of my head and it’s kind of scary to think about. And we shouldn’t have to think about something like that.”
Pastor Christopher McKee of the Church of Oakland in Jacksonville, eight minutes from the crime scene, said targeting the college — “a sacred ground of education,” he said — illuminates the “hatred that existed in this person. This is an African-American community that has deep roots in Jacksonville. But this reminds us that we’re resilient and that with one another, we can overcome this.
“But this will not be easy. I’m angry. I’m hurt. Confused. But we press on, even as we wipe away tears.”
McKee said he spends a lot of time on the EWU campus and that his wife is an adjunct professor there. “This is traumatizing for all, including the students on campus,” he said. “And it’s our job — faith leaders, our elected leaders, people all around the city — to be there for this community. We have no choice. We have to step up for one another.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
