‘Close to home.’ TV reporter covering Nashville shooting shares her own survival story
A TV reporter covering a deadly school shooting in Tennessee took time to share her own survival story on air.
Joylyn Bukovac said she was a teenager in 2010 when gunfire erupted at her middle school in Madison, Alabama.
“This is something that hits very close to home for me,” she said in a video clip Twitter user Reem Akkad posted online. “Many of you might not know this, but I’m actually a school shooting survivor.”
I appreciate all the support I’ve received after sharing my story. I don’t talk about it much, but I think about what happened on February 5, 2010 often. I just want people to know they aren’t alone.
I also want to discuss solutions. As a mom, I am worried for the future https://t.co/Fbd0fEpZyt— Joylyn Bukovac (@joylynrbukovac) March 27, 2023
Bukovac, a reporter at NBC affiliate station WSMV, shared her past experience while covering a deadly shooting at Covenant Presbyterian School in Nashville. Six people — including three children and three staff members — were killed at the school on Monday, March 27, according to the Metropolitan Nashville Police Department.
Police on Twitter identified the shooting victims as 9-year-olds Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs and William Kinney, as well as 61-year-old Mike Hill, 60-year-old Katherine Koonce and 61-year-old Cynthia Peak.
Two officers killed the accused shooter, who officials said was a former student at the school.
Bukovac told her TV station that covering the tragedy reminded her of what she witnessed at her middle school.
In 2010, two teens reportedly were in the hallway of Discovery Middle School in Alabama when one shot another in the back of the head. Todd Brown, 14, died after the Huntsville-area shooting, according to WAFF and WHNT.
“My stuff was part of the crime scene,” Bukovac told her TV station. “I couldn’t even take my backpack home that day. I really just felt like a sitting duck not knowing if I was going to make it out of that school alive. Which is awful because every child should feel safe at school.”
Bukovac said the experience drove her to go into TV news.
“I don’t talk about it much, but I think about what happened on February 5, 2010 often,” she wrote on Twitter. “I just want people to know they aren’t alone.”
Now, Bukovac is sharing advice with others who are experiencing similar situations.
“My biggest advice is, for all of the families here, if your student witnessed the unthinkable today, just be very gentle with them and let them talk when they’re ready,” she said while covering the March 27 shooting. “Because the shock that they’re going to be feeling coming home is going to be unfathomable.”
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