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Connections

Local parents react to the mass shooting in Texas

Martin Bureau
/
AFP/Getty Images
Kids in a classroom

Parents across the U.S. have been shaken by Tuesday's mass shooting in Texas. Writing for the Washington Post, editorial talent manager Nana Efua Mumford asks, "How can I protect my 6-year-old daughter?" She writes that she won't allow her daughter to wear light-up shoes because she read that they could make her a target if she and her classmates have to huddle in a classroom. What about a bullet proof backpack? Should she not wear a tie-dye shirt to school for Spirit Week because it could draw attention? These are the kinds of questions parents are asking, even though Mumford admits that the chances of her daughter dying by gunfire in school is 1 in 10 million. "That means nothing to me," she writes. "I’m worried about the statistic of one."

This hour, we hear from local parents about their worries and how they are coping. Our guests:

Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.