'I saw on her shirt, she had like red coming out:' Young adults in Highland Park share their traumas
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (CBS) -- One week to the day after a July 4th parade shooting battered the tight-knit community of Highland Park, the yellow crime scene tape has come down and downtown streets are back open.
But as CBS 2's Marissa Perlman reported Monday night, the impact on the community's young adults is now becoming clear.
One soon-to-be Deerfield High School freshman survived the July 4th parade shooting with a bullet through her chest. She is now on a long road to recovery.
Three other recent high school grads weren't hurt, but will remember the signs and sounds of what happened at Central and St. Johns avenues in their hometown forever.
"It's just been a week, but so far, it's been hard," said Elizabeth Angeles.
It's also hard to believe, Angeles said. She, her daughter, and her little sister – Jamie Mazariegos, just 14 – survived the Highland Park parade shooting exactly one week ago.
When the shots rang out last Monday, they all ran and hid. Jamie had been shot in the chest.
"When we got somewhere safe, I asked if everyone was okay, and they said yes," Angeles said. "But then I saw on her shirt, she had like red coming out – and I lifted it up, and that's when I saw that she had been wounded."
The bullet went right through Jamie.
"She's like the sweet one from the three of us," Angeles said. "She doesn't really talk about what happened to her. She's just like trying to be her normal self."
Angeles says her little sister – who was supposed to start Deerfield High School in the fall – won't be ready to be around crowds for a while. She has a long road to recovery, and their mom has stopped working to care for her 24/7.
And it's the same story for three Highland Park High School recent grads, who returned to the scene one week after the shooting.
"It was the scariest thing I've ever experienced," said Lia Gardner. "It's so crazy to be right where it happened."
The three were walking in the parade, two blocks from where gunshots rang out. They said living through the massacre will have a lasting impact as they all head off to college in the fall.
"You're kind of like always like assuming something bad is going to happen," said Saige Marselle.
"It kind of like makes your heart stop and stomach drop a little bit, and it's kind of like, ugh, like, I'm not safe really anywhere now," said Rachel Meltser.
Gardner sent a message to her mom during the shooting, time-stamped 10:21. It read: 'just incase want to let you know i love you.'"
"It sucks to have to send that text, and it sucks to be on the receiving end," Gardner said.
If there's one silver lining in light of all the tragedy, the tree young women say they're appreciating those who love them a little more – and hugging them a little big tighter.
"It really does bring you closer to your parents," Gardner said.
"Now, anytime I leave my house, I make sure to give them a big hug and like tell them I love them, because I'm like, that could have been me," added Marselle.
Those three young Highland Park grads have been lighting candles at the scene in honor of the victims.
There is also a fundraiser to help Jamie and her mother, which you can find here.
