By Marc Orfanos
Tel Orfanos, right, with his father, Marc, center, and his brother Ty at the 2016 Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.
Marc Orfanos is a resident of Thousand Oaks, Calif., and member of the Everytown Survivor Network.
Imagine (click here) being called into a room after waiting 10 excruciating hours to learn if your child is alive or dead. You find yourself face to face with a somber police officer. The words “I am sorry, your son did not make it” are barely comprehensible as the room swirls around you. You gasp for air as you feel your heart being ripped out of your chest. Your life, along with the lives of your family, friends and community, is changed in that instant. This is the reality of gun violence in America. This was our reality three months ago today.
Telemachus “Tel” Orfanos was my oldest son. There was nothing I wouldn’t do for him, and there is nothing in this world more important to me than my children. He lived his life to help others, and that is he how he died. He was only 27 years old.
Tel survived the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history on Oct. 1, 2017, in Las Vegas. He honorably served our country in the Navy, but never felt the looming presence of death more than at the Route 91 Harvest festival, where 58 people were killed and more than 850 wounded. When he came home, we hugged and cried — we felt so lucky for him to be alive.
None of us ever expected Tel would be at the scene of a second mass shooting just one year later. On Nov. 7, 2018, Tel was at the Borderline Bar & Grill in our hometown of Thousand Oaks, Calif., when someone opened fire. Tel rushed a group of friends out of the bar before returning to try to help more. He was shot multiple times and killed along with 11 others. I will never again be able to hug him, cry with him or be thankful he came home.
Mass shootings have become so routine and commonplace that my son was present at two....
While the State of the Union went on people in the USA were dying at the hand of violence. "Mass Shootings in 2019" (click here) Citizens die everyday in the USA now since the NRA and Russia has had it's way with our elections. Everyday there are mass shooting in the USA and they are not committed by the Undocumented. That fact went completely unrecognized in the State of the Union speech. Trump is not a president for all the people, just the one that improve his image in the way he wants it portrayed.
February 6, 2019
New York — Police say (click here) gunfire inside a Brooklyn building has left one person dead and three others hospitalized.
Detective Adam Navarro reports the shooting happened shortly before 10:30 p.m. Wednesday at a party in the lobby of an apartment building at 1778 Fulton Street.
A 20-year-old man was shot in the head and chest and was pronounced dead at the scene.
Another 20-year-old man was shot in the torso. A 55-year-old woman was shot in abdomen, and a 22-year-old woman was grazed by a bullet; both are expected to survive.
Navarro says it’s unclear how many of the victims were actual targets of the male gunman.
Police have so far made no arrests.
Occurred February 6, but, reported on February 7th.
Cleveland -- Cleveland police (click here) are investigating a shooting that left one person dead and several others injured.
Police were called to Roehl Avenue and West 33rd Street around 10 p.m. Wednesday night.
When they arrived, they found a large crime scene.
According to Cleveland EMS, one man was found dead at the scene. His identity was not released.
Three other men were taken to MetroHealth Medical Center, EMS told Fox 8.
A 33-year-old and 18-year-old were listed in critical condition. A 32-year-old was listed in serious condition.
Cleveland police have not released any information on the shooting or possible suspects.
