My daughter ran for her life during Tuskegee University mass shooting. And I’m not OK | Opinion

I've lost a son to gun violence before and it nearly happened to my daughter. The thought of burying another child is unfathomable.

I'm not OK.

My 18-year-old daughter, Victoria Porter, was at an outdoor party at Tuskegee University in Alabama during a deadly mass shooting over the weekend. When gunshots rang out, Victoria said she ran for her life.

As she fled, thoughts of being shot in the back filled her head, Victoria said.

"I thought I was going to die," she said.

I'm not OK.

Victoria is a freshman at Alabama State University in nearby Montgomery. She was with a group of fellow ASU students at a campus party in Tuskegee when things went horribly wrong.

The shooting occurred during Tuskegee's 100th homecoming weekend. In its immediate aftermath, Victoria told me and her mother that she was holding up well. When we spoke this week, I stressed to her the importance of protecting her mental and spiritual health.

She gave me permission to recount her experience.

When the shooting began, Victoria said she and a group of friends first took cover behind a vehicle, then later, amid a barrage of gunshots, behind a dumpster. At some point, they took off running in an open field toward a chapel on campus, she said.

Once at the chapel, Victoria said she vomited and then laid out on the floor in a panic.

"I heard more than 100 rounds," she said. "It was like a war zone out there. I was terrified."

A day after the shooting, she said she was OK. I'm not.

Arrest made in Tuskegee shooting La'Tavion Johnson, 18, of Troy, Alabama, was killed during the shooting and 16 others were injured, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency . Twelve of the injured people were shot, authorities said.

Federal officials charged Jaquez Myrick, 25, of Montgomery, with possession of a machine gun in connection with the shooting, officials announced.

Why would Myrick, as alleged — or anyone for that matter — bring a machine gun to a homecoming party?

I pray that the shooting victims and their families in this case find peace in these trying times.

'Shooting crazy weapons' I've written before about how gun violence took the life of my son, Toriano II . He was fatally shot on Sept. 28, 2009 in north St. Louis. A little more than 15 years later, I am so very thankful this is not a repeat column.

Victoria is a resilient young lady. Although she was only 3 when Toriano II died, she has fond memories of him. As she ran for cover in Tuskegee, she told me she thought of her brother. As a family, we are fortunate Victoria and her friends were not hurt.

Victoria grew up in a pretty rough south St. Louis neighborhood where gunfire was not all that uncommon. What occurred early Sunday morning in Tuskegee was unlike anything she'd heard before, Victoria said.

"They were shooting some crazy weapons," she said.

Victoria said she and her schoolmates had just arrived at the party — one of Tuskegee's many homecoming celebrations that week — when she noticed a group of people running. She estimated they'd only been there for about 10 minutes.

Then the sound of rapid gunfire sent my oldest daughter and her friends scurrying — I've watched footage taken from a cellphone video over and over and can only imagine the fear these young people faced.

Mass shootings are common When will senseless gun violence in America end? Somehow, some way, we as a nation must address this unfettered access to high-caliber weapons that continues to destroy families all across this country.

Unfortunately, mass shootings are more common than we think — schools don't conduct lockdown drills for nothing. Sensible gun reform could prevent many of these tragedies, gun control advocates have said. Second Amendment hard-liners and their Congressional lackeys have fought reform at every level.

And that's maddening. So far this year, there have been more than 455 mass shootings — that's more than one per day — across the United States, according to the Gun Violence Archive .

The nonpartisan gun violence group defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more victims were wounded or killed. Until Congress addresses gun control, there'll be more unthinkable tragedies like Sunday in Alabama.

Here, in Kansas City, we were reminded earlier this year of how pervasive mass shootings are. None of us should ever forget the gunfire that erupted during the Kansas City Chiefs' Super Bowl victory parade at Union Station.

In that deadly shooting, Lisa Lopez-Galvan , a mother and popular DJ, died and at least 24 others were injured . I thought then: Who brings a gun to a Super Bowl Parade ?

My question now: Why in the heck would anyone bring a machine gun (or any other high-powered weapon) to Tuskegee's homecoming party?

Thank goodness Victoria and friends escaped this mass shooting uninjured.

Still, I'm not OK.