The image in this post is the scene at the VA Hospital in El Paso, Texas yesterday after an “active shooter” entered the building.  Many details of the event are still being discovered.  What we do know is that the shooter and 1 physician have died.  This news item caught my attention for two reasons:

• It took place in a hospital and I work in a hospital.
• In November I prepared and presented training to our chaplain volunteers on our hospital’s protocol in “active shooter” events.

First, I want to affirm to all my readers that I am praying for the victims who not only include the two people who died and their families.  My list also includes all those who were in the hospital building that day and were gripped by fear when they realized something very dangerous was unfolding in the building.  People come to any hospital for healing.  No one comes expecting to be traumatized by an act of violence while they are there.  For patients who were not mobile or who move slowly they were probably afraid to remain where they were but also felt unable to move to a location with more safety.  This is partially because if they did not know the location of the shooter it would be impossible to know what locations would be safe and which locations would be unsafe.

The news media will inform us of the basic details of what happened as those details are released by investigators.  This may not be of a lot comfort to those who were there and have the vivid memories of the fear they felt.  Chaplains and counselors I am sure will be available to provide attentive reflective listening and other valuable comfort to those who take advantage of their presence.  Chaplains and counselors can’t prevent these tragedies but we can be part of the recovery process for those who experienced the unexpected fear and trauma of the day.