Former Oxford High School student uses nonprofit to turn tragedy into healing
OXFORD, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - It's been nearly two years since Ethan Crumbley opened fire at Oxford High School, killing four students and injuring several others.
However, Zoe Touray, a former student, is turning that tragedy into healing.
"One of my closer friends asked me did I hear these pops that sounded like balloons in the hallway," said Touray.
Vivid details are still present for Touray as she remembers November 30, 2021, a day tragedy struck Oxford High School.
"There was so much chaos it felt like five minutes and five hours all at once. Commotion kind of kicked up when we looked on Snapchat and saw all of our friends taking videos running away from the school," Touray stated.
Barricading herself and fellow students inside a classroom, it wasn't until she was able to escape the school safely that she realized what had happened.
"I want to say that I cried, but I didn't really cry until the next day because there was so much happening at the time," said Touray.
Following the shooting, Touray took action against gun violence and joined groups like March For Our Lives.
"I started traveling and speaking with them and going to different places, like speaking in Washington and speaking in Texas," she said.
It's what prompted Touray to start her organization last November. It's called S.E.E. (Survivors Embracing Each Other).
"Basically built around survivors of school-based gun violence and bringing us together and creating a community amongst us," she stated.
The group puts on events for survivors and has so far traveled to Uvalde, Texas, once last year.
"It was just a really big, fun, amazing day full of love and comradery and healing for both groups to be able to come together and do something important," Touray stated.
Touray is headed back to Uvalde, Texas, at the end of July and plans to hold even more events like this nationwide and here in Michigan when she returns.
"I want to be a mentor to them or big brother, big sister and share with them my stories and what we went through together and help them in whatever advice they might need," she said.
Meanwhile, the mission behind S.E.E. is to build a community of compassion for survivors.
"Survivors are some of the most strongest, resilient people I know, and it's not necessarily a club that you want to join, of course, but I'm ever so honored to be a member of it," Touray said.
Touray says she's always looking for more people to get involved and is always in need of donations.
