When Mason Schermerhorn's mother arrived at Apalachee High School following the Georgia school shooting, she thought he was safe. Schermerhorn had texted her during the shooting. He told his mom he was hiding in the bathroom and was alright.
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Sadly, Schermerhorn ended up being one of the four people killed in the deadly school shooting. Chaplain and Youth Minister Ronald Clark had to break the terrible news to the boy's devastated mother.
Clark had been on the way home when he learned about the shooting from his wife. The minister quickly rushed to the school to help local authorities. Authorities told him to assist with identifying those who were hurt. It's something the chaplain called challenging.
He said many of the students had a look of shock on their faces. "You want to have the arms big enough to grab everybody, but it's only so much that you can do," he said.
School Shooting Victim Died
Clark also said he assisted Schermerhorn's mother with trying to locate her son. Incidentally, Clark and the mother were also co-workers. In fact, she had just been talking about how much she loved her kids earlier in the week. "It was hard, because we were just talking about her kids on Tuesday this week," Clark said. "She was saying that the bond and the connection she has with her kids is unbreakable."
"'Hey, I can't find him," Clark remembered her saying. "'I'm just here to pick him up. I know he's safe. He text me that he's in the restroom. Can you please help?'"
Clark said he took a photo of the student up to a command post put up at the school. Authorities quickly confirmed that he was one of the ones that died. "He was a great kid, from what I was told. Loved life, didn't have any issues with anyone. He was autistic, but that didn't stop his glow," Clark said.
The youth minister called the situation devastating. He also highlighted the important bond between kids and their parents. "You don't understand how much we are valued at home," he said. "Pay attention to your children."
