Monday was day of waiting, but facts are worth it

Speculation, rumor abounded, but accurate information takes time

For a few hours on Monday, I had to carefully face a terrifying question. Did our community just become another tragic statistic? As the situation at Gila Ridge High School unfolded Monday, we had only pieces of information. I first heard about the incident through the rumor grapevine. “There’s been a shooting at Gila Ridge High.”

I immediately called three members of the newsroom and got the ball rolling to figure out what was going on.

By 9:44 a.m., the Yuma Police Department said there was no active shooter on the campus, and the suspect had fled the scene.

Bits and pieces of information and rumor continued to trickle in, including a rumor that two people were allegedly being treated for injuries.

That statement, however, left a lot of room for speculation. Were they injured running away from the scene? Had they been shot? We heard there had been a fight of some sort – were they injured there? We had no answers.

Someone in the community sent us photos and videos from social media that were allegedly from the Gila Ridge incident, which included a photo of a teen waving a gun around in the car – but we had no way to prove that this content was in fact legitimate or even connected to the day’s events.

And so we watched, asked questions, listened and waited for answers.

Just before 11 a.m., we learned from YPD that two students had been injured, but they were not shot.

And in that moment, I finally exhaled.

One of my biggest fears – as a parent, as a human, and as an editor – is the phrase “school shooting.” Every time one happens somewhere in the nation, I worry a little more about our schools, too. On Monday, those “what if” scenarios were impossible to avoid.

Thankfully, Gila Ridge was OK. In fact, just before 5 p.m., YPD issued a press release which noted, “Additionally, during this investigation, we could not find any evidence to confirm that any shots were actually fired in the Gila Ridge High School parking lot.”

When faced with a possibility of a shooting, our law enforcement agencies and schools reacted immediately and took the threat seriously. At the same time, YPD continued to provide updates as it could, which in turn helped keep the rumor mill somewhat at bay – and allowed us to keep the community informed as new information developed.

And that’s our goal as a newspaper: to report timely, accurate information. Not rumors, not speculation, not questionable tidbits and murky videos. We’re willing to wait to make sure we have it right, and Monday was a day of waiting.

Throughout the day, we used the Sun’s Facebook page and its website to keep the community informed, with a breaking news banner at the top of Yumasun. com to make it as easy as possible to find the information.

Readers, thank you for your patience. And to our schools and law enforcement officers – thanks for keeping our students safe.

Unsigned editorials represent the viewpoint of this newspaper rather than an individual. Columns and letters to the editor represent the viewpoints of the persons writing them and do not necessarily represent the views of the Yuma Sun.