LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- April 10, 2023, is a day that remains etched in the memory of Maryanne Elliott.
It was the day her husband, Tommy Elliott, was killed in a mass shooting at Old National Bank. A 25-year-old gunman armed with an AR-15 opened fire, killing five people and injuring several others.
“I've worked really hard in the last 20 months to rebuild a life, and to find meaning and purpose in it,” Elliott shared.
She described the emotional aftermath, emphasizing the importance of embracing grief rather than suppressing it.
“Our culture doesn't grieve well. We like it tidy and in a box, but when we suffer as human beings, it is anything but tidy," she said. "It is messy and raw, and that's okay. When we feel the pain and walk through it, that's how we build strength."
For Mike Campbell, the recent tragedies bring back agonizing memories of his own experience. On September 14, 1989, he survived the Standard Gravure printing plant shooting, one of the first major workplace shootings in the U.S. That day, disgruntled employee Joseph Wesbecker, armed with an AK-47, a pistol, and a duffel bag full of ammunition opened fire on his coworkers. Twenty people were shot, eight of them fatally.
“It was horrible, and I ended up with six holes in me,” Campbell recalled, describing how the bullets left him with 10 entry and exit wounds. “I never thought anything like this would ever happen. The first thing I said was, 'I'm gonna die, and I don't know why. I never bothered anybody.'”
Elliott, Campbell, and others gathered at the Frazier History Museum Thursday evening for an open discussion about gun safety and measures to prevent future mass shootings.
The conversation highlighted the growing concerns about gun violence in schools, businesses and communities across the nation.
“There's too little caring about what is happening now,” Campbell said. “It's absolutely out of control. I fear for my own kids and their kids.”
Their hope is to foster change and create safer environments for future generations.
According to Mass Shooting Tracker, there have already been 30 mass shootings this year, in which four or more people were shot. That amounts to an average of one mass shooting per day.
By sharing their stories, survivors aim to push through the pain and work toward a future where no one else has to endure the same suffering.
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