Michigan State student Jackie Matthews speaks out after surviving her second mass shooting
TIKTOK: jmattttt / WIKIMEDIA: GuettardaStudent Jackie Matthews, who goes by jmattttt on TikTok, went viral on the platform after she spoke out about surviving the 2012 Sandy Hook massacre, after also surviving the Michigan State shooting.
On February 13, a gunman shot and killed three MSU students at Michigan State, and left five critically injured. Matthews, a Michigan State University senior who was on campus during Monday’s deadly shooting, revealed that she’s also a survivor of the Sandy Hook massacre.
“I am 21 years old, and this is the second mass shooting that I have now lived through,” Jackie shared in a TikTok video. “The fact that this is the second mass shooting that I have now lived through is incomprehensible.”
In the since-deleted clip, she relived the Sandy Hook school shooting, which occurred back in 2012.
Jackie said she had crouched for so long in her classroom, that she now has a “full-blown PTSD fracture” that flares up anytime she’s in a stressful situation. The horrific incident in Newtown, Connecticut, left 26 people dead; 20 children and six adults.
Michigan State student calls for action to curb school shootings
Jackie is now calling for action beyond love and prayers.
“My heart goes out to all the families and the friends of the Michigan State shooting. But we can no longer just provide love and prayers,” she said. “It needs to be legislation, it needs to be action. It’s not okay.
We can no longer allow this to happen. We can no longer be complacent. I’ll forever be Sandy Hook Strong. I’ll forever be Spartan Strong.”
The student’s video was reposted on Twitter, amassing over 9.4 million views, and drawing thousands of supportive replies and retweets.
Monday’s attack in Michigan unfolded at around 8.15 pm when Anthony Dwayne McRae entered a classroom and started firing.
The 43-year-old suspect was found off campus early Tuesday before he could be arrested. Authorities stated he had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.