Students will return to Arlington ISD's Lamar High School Wednesday for the first time since a student was shot and killed outside the school Monday morning. One student was killed and another was grazed by a bullet.
Arlington ISD said counselors will be available for students and staff.
"It happened at their school," said Dr. Dean Beckloff, a counselor in Dallas who does not work for Arlington ISD. "It is such a shock. It's like if you've ever had a car accident, even if it's minor, you go into kind of a shock. It's like, 'whoa,' and the same thing is happening to these kids at school."
Beckloff urges parents to ask their kids how they are handling news of the shooting.
"I always say, 'listen to understand rather than to respond,'" he said. "Most people listen to respond and come back with the answer."
Instead, Beckloff said parents should talk with kids about what they have heard about what happened and what they know about the case. He said that can help students at Lamar who are traumatized but also students at other schools and in other districts who may feel less safe going to school.
"One of the things that helps for kids and teens is to know that someone's listening," he said. "'I'm not alone in this,' and they feel safer. That's what we are wanting as parents is for our kids to feel safe. What we might want to do is even remind them even though it may have happened, we're generally pretty safe."
For students at Lamar, Beckloff said each will move forward at his or her own pace. Some may have known one of the victims or suspect or shared a class with them.
"That's going to be on an individual basis depending on how much shock their feeling and the loss they might be feeling," he said.
Beckloff urges people struggling with the shooting to limit their exposure to news. Once the shock begins to wear off, he says teens may start feeling grief. He said parents and friends can help students find ways to express their grief.
"You see people gathering together, lighting candles, those kinds of things are important," he said.
Tuesday evening, a prayer vigil is scheduled at a church about a block north of Lamar High School in Arlington. The vigil begins at 6:15 p.m. at Most Blessed Sacrament Catholic Church at:
2100 N Davis Dr
Arlington, TX 76012
Another vigil is scheduled at 7 p.m. Tuesday at New World United Methodist Church, also on Davis north of Lamar at
2201 N Davis Dr
Arlington, TX 76012
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