L.A. Shooting,
August 10, 1999

We react with the profoundest sense of horror and outrage to the vicious gun attack on innocent young children and staff at the Jewish Day Care Center, Granada Hills JCC, San Fernando, Los Angeles.

We express our deepest concern and pray for the survival of the young child who was critically injured. Our thoughts are with the victims, their families and friends in their suffering and shock, and we pray for their full physical and emotional recovery.

Reporting links to view:

http://www.nytimes.com/learning/students/pop/articles/081199la-shooting.html
http://www.cnn.com/US/9908/11/california.shooting.01/
and especially the section on "You feel like a target": http://www.cnn.com/US/9908/11/california.shooting.01/#5
http://www.rj.org/rac/news/081099.html

Educational programs which you might like to adapt:

1. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/index.html
   Lesson plan on impacts of war (violence) for Wednesday, August 11, 1999
2. http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/lessons/990521friday.html
   Friday, May 21, 1999
   School Violence: Is It in Your Backyard?
   (grades 6-12) Includes links to other sites on the topic of violence & safety.

Express your support for the victims, their families and the community:

From Notice on http://www.Jewishnet.net/

You are invited to express your feelings of participation to the Beth
Torah Community by writing to their president, Joel Feinstein jjoel@earthlink.net

Their site is available at:
http://www.shamash.org/reform/uahc/congs/ca/ca039/index.html

How to address this in more detail:

Based on recommendations issued other shootings and acts of hateful violence, the principles for working through towards coping and healing are:

• understanding,
• reassurance,
• addressing the moral issues
• creative self-expression (verbal, artistic, written) - as reactions to the event or search for solutions,
• seeking a path to contend with potential threats to oneself and others,
• paths to express group/personal support for the victims,
• paths to help (as relevant) or run a campaign of action.

The selection will vary as age-appropriate - young children are not going to be involved in all the levels of the moral issues or trying to help out or campaign, but need to be taken through the other stages, including expression of support for the victims and those close to them.