We lived in the Hampton/Newport News area at the time, and when he murdered the man at the restaurant just north of Richmond, I started looking around, over my shoulder, wondering if it’s at all possible the killer would find himself down our way. I’m so very, very sorry for all who suffered through this nightmare, and especially to the families who lost their loved ones.
I’m forever grateful to the families who hosted our high school football games out in the Shenandoah valley. Parents who didn’t even know us showed up and fired up the grill just to try and give families a ‘normal’ afternoon. Many schools had erected green fencing to shield students as they moved between buildings. It was brutal. I had teen-age drivers who I feared every time they left my sight. Yet, it was important, like with the 911 attack, that we spit in the eye of terrorists and go on about our lives.