John J. Campbell | Homicide w/ a Firearm

Photo courtesy of Tom Campbell

My story doesn’t quite fit today’s narrative as it’s a mix of inner city and old style ‘mass’ murder. Inner City in that my dad, John J. Campbell, was shot to death in NYC on Dec 23 1965 by a neighborhood punk who went on to kill 15 to 30 more people over the next 25 yrs, ie a serial killer. I was 17 at the time, second oldest of 7, the youngest being 2. It happened Christmas Eve in a local bar where dad stopped on his way home from the second shift (4-12). The shooter lived around the corner from us and the bar was around another corner so there was no more than a few hundred yards separating everything. Back then, the shooter was described as a JD – Juvenile Delinquent – and had already spent some time in detention centers for various offenses. That night he picked up his father’s police service revolver, left unlocked and loaded in a bureau drawer and walked out of his house. At 1AM, he entered the same bar and while the owner was shooting pool with another patron, Dad was shot.

Avielle Rose Richman | Mass Shooting

Avielle Rose Richman (Photo courtesy of Jennifer Hensel)

This child was everything to my husband and me.  She was the essence of spirit, hope, and love.  She loved her family, her friends, and animals.  She sang and hummed so much so that her narrative of life was often in song, whether she was singing to us, or humming and singing to herself while engaged in play.  She loved to cook with her mom, run with her dad, develop imaginary worlds with her friends, she rode horses, ice skated, she dreamed of one day becoming an artist, she played with her cats and her dog, and snuggled into bed with her parents at night for a regular span of reading books. How does one encompass in written word a child, a loved one? It is difficult to list her many lovely qualities.  She was empathetic, kind, and  felt no one should be left alone, or out of the circle, and would invite strangers to play.  She was whip smart, and so poignantly funny that her parents would often laugh out loud many times a day.

Ask yourselves, what did the world lose when this child was murdered?  She could have been a doctor, a teacher, a best friend to someone in need.  She could have changed the world.  She changed ours, and those who knew and loved her know that emptiness now, acutely and strongly felt were her daily gifts. And now we are left feeling her unrealized potential, shattered and aching to hold her, to smell her, to hear her tinkling laughter, to converse with her.  Ask yourselves, what does the world lose when a child is murdered?  A community leader?  A teacher?  A doctor?  A scientist? A good parent?…’

– Jennifer Hensel

Calls to Action:

• The Sodina Project shares stories to foster connection and save lives. This grass-roots movement needs your help in connecting with others. Please share the stories and blog posts with your friends and social networks if they have moved you or made you reflective. You will find sharing options at the end of each post.
• Please visit The Avielle Foundation to learn about and support the they are doing in Avielle’s memory. You can also visit our brain health page to learn about The Avielle Foundation and other brain health related organizations.

If you have a story to share about the death of a loved one as a result of violence, please submit your story here .

Sodina | Voices to Stop Violence

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