Sacramento mass shooting still stirring up fear nearly six months later
SACRAMENTO — It has been nearly six months since the Sacramento mass shooting, and some people are dealing with P.T.S.D. even if they weren't there when the shooting happened.
Ashley Ford wasn't there the night of the K Street mass shooting, but she has vivid memories of the aftermath outside the Capital Books store where she works.
"From what I remember, there was a body right here [in front of the book store]," said Ford. "There was blood splatter on the window."
A mass shooting has always been Ashley's biggest fear after growing up during several of them, including Columbine. Now, the violence was at her doorstep.
"From what I heard, people were just crammed as many as they could," said Ford.
People huddled in the store's alcove, hiding from gunfire. It took days before Ashley could even come back to work, and now six months later, she still fears the next mass shooting.
"Even though I wasn't here when it actually occurred, again, it's my home away from home; it's my workplace," said Ford.
Dr. Angela Drake, a Psychiatry Professor at UC Davis, says you didn't have to be at the shooting or even a part of it to develop a stress disorder.
Lisa Fine-Cavalli just marked five years since she was at the Las Vegas shooting, the deadliest one in U.S. history.
"You can hear the screams, you can smell the air, blood. And it can bring up nightmares," said Fine-Cavalli.
Nightmares that Dr. Drake says can have an end with treatment.
"For years, we really didn't have outstanding treatment and interventions for these types of disorders, but we do now," said Dr. Drake.
Dr. Drake says holding onto stressors can lead to a chronic disorder or even serious health problems.