I ran in terror through the airport just wanting to live. 

While I ran with fear through the Dallas airport, I never had been more scared for my life. It was July 25, 2022 at 12:20 p.m. I tiredly rustled through the sliding doors of the airport towards the check in line so I could finally go home from a 48-hour travel day.

I was coming back from Denmark and Sweden. I had been playing soccer there for about a month and a half, including four tournaments.

As I walked through the door, I have my suitcase in my left hand, my book bag on my back as I walk up to the counter excited, finally going back home. A lady walks through the doors I walked through not even 5 minutes after I walked through them. As she comes towards the check-in counter, she has her hood up and a mask on, I look behind me and I see her walking closer and closer towards the counters, she pulls out her gun and starts firing towards the ceiling then points her gun at an officer.

As soon as I heard the gunshots, I immediately dropped my things and ran up these escalator stairs and thankfully I didn’t get stuck in the crowd trying to go up them. As I was running, people could see I was alone, a group of old people pulled me over to come hide with them. They took my hand as they all prayed that we would stay safe in this unbelievable moment.

But the feeling of terror was familiar. I had been in a shooting one year earlier. A crazed gunman decided on a beautiful Saturday with my family that someone had to pay. Lightning can strike twice. 

What happened I never thought could happen again. All the sudden I felt this fear, a shallow feeling in my stomach for the second time. About one year earlier, a guy stopped his car and pulled a gun on me and my family. But the point of me telling my story isn’t to make people feel bad or to just tell a sob story. This is me trying to warn all people to know how to be prepared and more aware. If my dad had not owned a carry and conceal gun, he wouldn’t have been able to protect my family and I may have not even been here right now writing this story.

Gun violence is a daily struggle for more people than you think that threatens our most fundamental right; the right to live. More than 600 people die every day as a result of firearms violence, which is a driven part by easy access to firearms – whether legal or illegal. Anyone can be affected by gun violence, but it often disproportionately impacts people of color, men and boys in deprived communities, and other marginalized groups. Domestic violence involving firearms also puts women at higher risk of death or life changing injuries.

Gun violence is a leading cause of premature death in the U.S. Guns kill more than 38,000 people and cause nearly 85,000 injuries each year. Over the past few years, gun violence has risen to the forefront of public consensus. Much of the debate has focused on gun regulation and keeping deadly weapons out of the hands of potential killers, and particularly those with dangerous mental illness.   

Now, through a couple of personal experiences, I have learned to be more aware and that life is so precious. You should never doubt that lighting can’t strike twice. Yes, this is a tragic story, but it wasn’t all about that. This experience has helped me be stronger and more prepared in the world we live in today.