A Nashville news reporter bravely opened up about being a school shooting survivor herself during an emotional live broadcast Monday on the Covenant School massacre — admitting that it took her two years to talk about the trauma.
“A lot of this is really bringing up some tough memories for me,” WSMV4 reporter Joylyn Bukovac told viewers during the live report from nearby The Covenant School in the hours after a former student opened fire, killing three adults and three children before being shot dead by police.
Bukovac was an eighth-grade student at Discovery Middle School in Madison, Alabama on Feb. 5, 2010, when a ninth-grader opened fire in a hallway and killed a fellow classmate.
“I was actually in the hallway when the gunman opened fire,” the University of Alabama graduate recalled.
She counseled parents in the area to be “very gentle” with student survivors, and to “let them talk when they’re ready.”
“I can’t even describe the shock [after the 2010 shooting],” Bukovac said, noting that it took her two years to open up about the experience.
“I’m a mom now, so I’m really trying to put myself in everybody’s shoes,” she added.
In a subsequent sit-down interview for the station, Bukovac said she was eventually diagnosed with PTSD from the Discovery shooting in college and that her survival inspired her to become a reporter.
“If I could just one family, one person…that would make sharing my story worth it,” she said.
Fellow survivors quickly flooded Bukovac’s social media profiles with recollections of their own shooting experiences.
“Workplace shooting, 12/26/2000. It never goes away,” one commenter wrote on Twitter.
“[My shooting story] will be 10 years [ago] this June 7th. Still think about it EVERY DAY!” another said.
Bukovac’s story comes as Nashville continues to reel in the aftermath of the Monday morning shooting.
Three nine-year-olds – Evelyn Dieckhaus, William Kinney and Hallie Scruggs – were among the victims.
Scruggs was identified late Monday as the daughter of Chad Scruggs, the senior pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church.
Former student Ashley Hale, 28, also shot and killed custodian Mike Hill and substitute teacher Cynthia Peak, both 61, and school head Katherine Koonce, 60 before being shot down by police.
Bukovac’s colleagues at WSMV, Holly Thompson and Amanda Hara, both became visibly distraught while reporting on the developing story Monday.
“My heart is just hurting right now. Thoughts and prayers for these families,” Thompson said.
