A school shooting took place in Colorado on Wednesday, seriously injuring two administrators. A student reportedly opened fire with a handgun at East High School in Denver. The alleged shooter was being searched when the gun was discovered, and he began shooting. The suspect, 17-year-old Austin Lyle, reportedly died of an apparent suicide Wednesday morning.
Alicia Acuna, a Denver-based Fox News correspondent, was reporting on the shooting at East High School, where her son is a student. The scene was terrifying for all involved, but the moment the mother and son reunited on camera made many people emotional. Acuna was in the middle of a live broadcast outside the high school when she saw her son and stopped what she was doing to embrace him.
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Acuna's son had been in contact with her earlier in the day.
The New York Post reported that Acuna was busy with other things in the office when her son contacted her.
"I was sitting in my desk, working on a different story, and I started getting texts from my son, saying that he was in an assembly and then, all of the sudden, there were police officers everywhere, there were ambulances, the assembly was shut down and there were cops guarding their door," she said.
Acuna arrived on the scene not just as a reporter but as a mom.
Watching the family reunite is moving. Acuna was updating viewers about the scene at the school when she saw her son off-camera. She's a mom and did what any mom would do: She stopped what she was doing to hug her son, who was undoubtedly shaken up by the whole situation.
"Excuse me, my son just came up, and I had not seen him," Acuna said as she paused her broadcast. "I'm sorry, I had not seen my kid," she added. "I'm so sorry. There is no way you would have let your kid walk by."
We feel her words in our soul.
The alleged killer reportedly had disciplinary problems and was subject to daily pat downs.
HuffPost reported that Lyle had allegedly agreed to the pat down because of behavioral issues. According to the news outlet, Denver Police Chief Ron Thomas said the pat down occurred away from other students in the office.
The New York Post explained that Acuna expressed her frustrations as a parent who was unaware of the daily pat downs.
"When I asked why parents weren't being told this, I was told by the superintendent that was to protect the privacy of the people who were being patted down," she said. "As a parent, my question is, 'What about the safety and the concerns we have for all of our students?' There is a tremendous amount of frustration right now."
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This is the second shooting involving an East High School student in less than a month.
Student Luis Garcia, was shot February 13 while in his car outside the high school. He died two weeks later. The Denver Gazette reported passionate students marched to lobby for change. A group of 1,000 protesters made their way to the state capitol, where they were invited to speak with state legislators.
“Luis should not have died and we should not be here,” 16-year-old Gracie Taub told the newspaper.
Commenters on the Fox News Facebook page shared their support for Acuna.
Gun control and school shootings were hot topics in the comments, but other followers applauded Acuna for comforting her son.
"Great reporting from a Mother reporter who has children in the Denver public school system. She raised some good questions," one person wrote. "So sad for the school officials who were shot."
"It doesn't matter if your a mother or father we all know we don't want nothing more than our kids being safe," another person shared.
"Girl, you don't have to apologize about being concerned about your kid. He is your baby. He is way more important then us getting the news," one comment reads. "You're Great. Glad your son is Safe."
As parents, we get it. Nothing is more important in the world than our children and knowing they are safe. We also want them to always feel loved, and if that means putting the world on hold for a hug, that's OK. The other stuff can wait.
