When reporting on the devastating school shooting in Nashville, Tennessee, an intrepid local journalist revealed that she too was a survivor of a previous campus massacre.

On March 27, a 28-year-old transgender individual brutally murdered three students and three faculty members from The Covenant School; a Christian educational institution for preschool to 6th-grade children located in Nashville. Following the carnage, law enforcement personnel had no other option than to fatally shoot the culprit.

Joylyn Bukovac, a reporter for WSMV 4 based in Nashville, revealed during her coverage on the scene that she had once been involved in a school shooting as a child.

“This is something that hits very close to home for me — many of you might not know this, but I am actually a school shooting survivor,” Bukovac stated. “It happened a while ago — I was in middle school.”

According to Bukovac, an alarming 380 school shootings have transpired since the horrendous tragedy at Columbine High School in Colorado two decades ago.

“My middle school being one of them. This school being one of them,” she continued. “Some people have been reaching out to me saying enough is enough — when is all this gun violence going to change? — and that’s a really good question that we’re going to keep on asking.”

During the first 6 weeks of 2023, a staggering 72 mass shootings occurred in America – evidencing an epidemic that gun violence is having on our nation’s youth. Every day 22 children are injured by guns, making it the #1 cause of death for American kids.

Bukovac recalled “a lot of tough memories” that were stirred up by the latest shooting.

After experiencing a school shooting firsthand, she generously imparted her learned wisdom with other families and parents.

“My biggest advice is for all the families here: If your student witnessed the unthinkable today, just be very gentle with them and let them talk when they’re ready because the shock that they’re going to be feeling when they’re coming home is going to be unfathomable,” she stated. “I know, I was actually in the hallway when the gunman opened fire in my school shooting.”

Even years later, Bukovac still remembers being in the eighth grade and feeling “the shock” of disbelief.

“I wasn’t really ready to talk about it for two years really,” she added. “So just give them some time — if they’re not ready to talk, don’t be overly concerned; everyone copes in their own way, so just really be there for them and open up that line of communication.”

According to the American Psychologist Association, students who are unfortunate enough to experience a school shooting can often be left feeling powerless and overwhelmed – with many displaying post-traumatic stress symptoms such as anxiety and depression.

Bukovac, who is now a mother, expressed that she has been attempting to cognizant put herself “in everyone’s shoes that will be coping with some tough emotions in helping their children work through that.”

After her broadcast, Bukovac took to Twitter and shared that “reporting on a school shooting as a school shooting survivor and now as a mom has been indescribably heartbreaking,” adding that “something needs to change.”

Bukovac chose to keep the school shooting which she had survived a secret. By her own disclosure, it occurred on February 5th, 2010 – coinciding with an incident in Alabama’s Discovery Middle School where a 15-year-old student fatally shot a 14-year-old classmate.

“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,” Bukovac said in another tweet. “I also want to discuss solutions. As a mom, I am worried for the future.”