Listen: 911 calls tell the stories of children injured or killed in shootings

It’s hard to imagine anything worse for a parent than losing a child to gun violence.

Today, though, we ask you to imagine this: Being the mother or the father of a young person who has been struck down by a bullet but survived — and having to navigate their medical care and the costs of it, possible mental health challenges (including post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety), and a host of other related issues that they’ve never been confronted with before.

What must that be like for parents? Not to mention, what must that be like for the child? How do you even begin to heal the physical and emotional wounds?

Statistics show that an increasing number of families are finding out first-hand.

This story was originally published March 30, 2023 at 6:00 AM.

Théoden Janes

The Charlotte Observer

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Théoden Janes has spent nearly 20 years covering entertainment and pop culture for the Observer. He also thrives on telling emotive long-form stories about extraordinary Charlotteans and — as a veteran of three dozen marathons and two Ironman triathlons — occasionally writes about endurance and other sports. Support my work with a digital subscription