Shooting witnesses traumatized

Chaplain: Shooting witnesses traumatized
MLive.com - MI,USA
A Saginaw County police and fire chaplain says that's normal, but parents should watch their children for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder
Chaplain: Shooting witnesses traumatized
Posted by LaNIA COLEMAN/THE SAGINAW NEWS
October 25, 2007 07:37AM
The effects could linger for weeks for the 300 people who shared a traumatic experience when a middle school football game erupted into gunfire in Saginaw.
A Saginaw County police and fire chaplain says that's normal, but parents should watch their children for symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.
"Some things that parents should watch for and monitor immediately and for about 30 days are sleep disturbances, a fear of returning to school, eating disorders, nausea, nervousness, a lot of extraordinary anxiety, behavior patterns that are not normal for their particular young person," said Richard Popard, a chaplain for Saginaw Township's police and fire departments.
"Parents should reassure children when they have these symptoms that they're not going crazy. Their body is acting normally to an abnormal circumstance. It's not normal for us to see a shooting. It's just not normal."
An Arthur Hill High School student remained in criticial condition this morning at Covenant Medical Center. Bullets struck him and three others -- two parents and another Arthur Hill student -- when a gunman opened fire during a football game at South Middle School, on the city's West Side.
About 300 spectators attended the game; the shots broke out during halftime.
Popard is part of the township's critical incident stress debriefing team, which helps officers and firefighters cope with work-related trauma.