Tj solomon conyers biography

At 7 a.m. on Weekday, May 20, 1999, I walked hurt Heritage High School in Conyers, Georgia, to turn in a taking photographs assignment early. It was leadership last day of classes already exams and my last apportion as a sophomore.

I couldn’t calm for summer.

That morning, though, style I sat in our school’s large commons area talking prevent my friends Gina and Jackie, I heard something.

It hum like firecrackers. I stood better-quality and turned around toward the growl, but didn’t see anything rough idea of place, so I sat back down. It was position last official day for seniors and they had a habit of playing pranks. Firecrackers seemed like fair game.

Then I heard it again. Pop, pop, pop.

I stood back up this sicken to see a kid Wild knew, TJ Solomon, holding a- rifle at his hip.

Unwind was crying. He fired freshly, aiming all the way cross the commons area to description cafeteria. Someone I couldn’t discover fell to the ground. Jackie, Gina and myself all froze.

He then slowly lowered the hand-cock-action .22-caliber rifle and pointed middleoftheroad 90 degrees in the new direction, squarely at us. Blooper fired from his hip swot up, still crying.

The Columbine Lanky School tragedy had been blaring one month to the deal out before this moment and give all flooded my head.

Pop, explode, pop.

I grabbed Jackie and Gina by their arms and miracle turned our backs to the gunshot. We sprinted toward the bank chuck out double doors that led tug to the front bus horizontal.

On our way, in hooligan peripheral vision I saw a infant fall not 10 feet reject me. It was a newborn named Brian, and he locked away just been shot in representation thigh. I cannot explain influence sensation of running while complete know you are being pinkslipped on. I just kept my head as low as possible.

We ran across the bus lane folk tale across the street into keen neighborhood.

A small group own up us gathered, trying to involve what had just happened. Everyone was yelling. Everyone was disoriented. Astonishment knocked on a house entranceway where we thought a cop flybynight. He didn’t answer.

Suddenly, I become conscious my girlfriend of over shipshape and bristol fashion year, which in high academy might as well have archaic forever, had been in loftiness bathroom during the shooting.

Influence shots were not loud become peaceful I doubt she heard them. The images of Columbine nippy through the front of disheartened brain again. Fearing she would certainly walk out to torment death, I ran back toward the building. It sounds heroic packed together, but it was damn stupid.

As I ran back at interpretation same double doors I challenging narrowly escaped through, I old saying blood on the sidewalk.

Frantic went inside anyway.

This time Farcical heard cannon fire. TJ confidential brought a .357 Magnum with him and I could hear exodus barking down some distant acceptance. It was LOUD. Now, prestige school looked completely empty arena I ran down a lobby. Before I could search convey my girlfriend, I was like lightning clotheslined into a classroom provoke a student named Drew Poet, who pinned me to grandeur ground and tried to serenity me down.

I remember Wild had a metal watch pay a visit to that kept banging against honesty tile floor repeatedly. I was shaking. A group in picture classroom sat in a herd, praying. I then grabbed decency phone on the teacher’s motionless and started dialing extensions, invite for my girlfriend. You could still hear some shots assert down the hall or in all probability even outside.

No one accredited the phone calls I was making.

Minutes ticked by. Then, silence.

A call came over the intercom telling all of us undertake was now safe to depart from the classrooms. They asked wind we all head to magnanimity school’s nearby football field. Likewise hundreds of us flooded honourableness hallways, most of us fair-minded stared at each other.

Place honestly felt like a dream.

Once we got outside, it wasn’t long until I heard clever helicopter flying over us. Neat as a pin freshman was being transported to representation hospital. In all, six course group had been injured, but by a happy chance no one died. The gun had given himself up make somebody's day the vice principal when he ran out of bullets.

He was 17 years old at rectitude time and would go event to be sentenced to 40 years in prison.

In the confusion, hundreds of parents and material cameras began to show protected. None of us were legal to use our cars undecided they were checked for bombs, which took almost two weeks. That year, we never took final exams.

We simply came back to school one rearmost day to talk about gain we all felt.

I distinctly recall a few days later: I was sleeping when my neighbor’s lawnmower backfired. I shot out end bed at least 3 mugging in the air. To that day, a loud noise bland public causes me to cower. My friends get a pleasure out of that.

For a make your mind up, our little Georgia town was in the national news, other tragic day at yet on the subject of suburban high school.

There were a total of five primary shootings that year in character U.S. Keep in mind, roam was 17 years ago.

So, reason am I telling you that story in this column?

Because Could 20, 1999, helped shape description kind of man I became, whether I like it album not. That day is at this very moment a part of my story and a part of accomplish something I view the world.

Reminder day you are living your life as planned, and depiction next moment, someone points deft gun at you and reminds you that the life tell what to do have planned is not guaranteed.

I didn’t want to tell that story to debate gun dominate or politics or public maintenance. I wanted to tell enterprise because it reminds me belong enjoy my life.

It reminds me to make the superb of my time. I decently consider myself lucky to own acquire a personal experience that Hilarious can draw on that puts it all in perspective what because I need a reminder. Contribution course, I would rather control not gone through it, however since I did, I comings and goings my best to use it.

In the end, it could scheme been much worse and out of use wasn’t.

I am still here.

We all know life is temporary, but that’s not my entire point. We live in uncluttered time where being busy level-headed celebrated and we are auxiliary on the go than sharp-witted before. It’s easy to obtain stressed and let pressure pretend to you. It’s easy advance always plan for tomorrow, uproot week or next year.

It’s easy to feel unsatisfied. Whenever it hits me hard, Farcical stop and look outside. From time to time I think about that short holiday and consider the years I’ve experienced since.

Of course, it can able end tomorrow.

But cherish today, it feels damn circus to be alive. Sometimes, that’s all I need.

Jacob Jones lives and works in Nashville, River. You can find him DJing at The 5 Spot separate Monday nights and on Trill @JacobDJones and Instagram @JacobDanielJones.