Apalachee school student, parents share their story during Harris campaign town hall
DETROIT - Natalie Griffith, a 15-year-old student at Apalachee High School who was shot during a campus attack on Sept. 4, shared her story with Oprah Winfrey during an online Kamala Harris town hall campaign event in Detroit on Thursday.
Natalie, still wearing bandages, was accompanied on either side by her parents, Doug and Marilda. She was visibly fighting back emotions as she described being injured in the school shooting.
"Oprah, before that thing, that video, I was very happy, I still am very happy to be here and to tell my story to tell what happened because it was a terrible thing," she said. "And it should have not... um..." The teen trailed off in emotion and reflection.
Natalie was in an algebra class when the shooting started. She was shot twice.
She pointed to the spots on her arm and wrist where she was shot. She was also grazed across the chest.
"I've had intruder drills and fire drills and stuff," the teen said, but added that they had not yet had one at Apalachee that year. She said she wasn't even sure where to go when it happened.
Apalachee HS shooting victim says she wants to go back to school
Natalie Griffith's mom says she is simply the bravest girl she has ever seen. Despite being shot during the deadly incident at Apalachee High School and having surgery to reconstruct her wrist, she says she still wants to return to the school once she's healed in order to finish out the academic year.
Marilda Griffith, with tears flowing down her cheeks, said she was notified by a friend about the shooting.
"She called me, I was at work," the mother said. "And she called me, and she said, 'Do you know about the shooting?'"
The mother said her heart dropped when she heard the news.
Natalie Griffith (Photo submitted by family)
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"My heart just got so heavy," she said.
Marilda said she immediately left work to get to the school.
"The first thing I did was drop to my knee on my floor and start praying," she said. "I prayed for about 30 minutes."
She said she could not get into the area of the school, so she parked her car at a gas station about two to three miles down the road and ran towards the school.
"The experience, you do not know what it feels like until it's you," the mother said.
She spoke to the mothers, telling them that they had one job: to protect their children.
"We cannot let this go on. We have to stop it," she said. "I'm ready to make a noise about this and I'm ready to stop it."
Natalie Griffith (Photo submitted by family)
She also expressed sadness and empathy for the mothers who lost their children in school shootings.
"I can actually hug my child, my child is here," she said, contrasting the loss of the loved ones of those killed in the shooting. "Those people are suffering."
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Richard Aspinwall and Christina Irimie, both math teachers, and students Mason Schermerhorn and Christian Angulo, both 14 years old, were killed in the shooting.
"The people in power, let's make a change, let's make it happen," she added.
Natalie Griffith (Photo submitted by family)
Natalie is a freshman at Apalachee and is part of the band. After getting out of the hospital, Natalie's parents say she wants to go back to Apalachee to finish the school year.
Her parents also say Natalie's teacher held her and kept the kids together during the shooting. They called her a hero.
This story is being reported out of Atlanta