A family that survived the Highland Park shooting tries to move forward one year later
HIGHLAND PARK, Ill. (CBS) – Among the survivors of last year's Highland Park Fourth of July shooting were Mike and Marcia Moran.
Their daughter was getting ready to leave for college last year when she got the call her parents were shot but survived. She wrote a letter to the community about her fear, anxiety, and change.
That started the family's first chapter toward closure. CBS 2's Marissa Perlman had the chance to sit down with them again.
Almost one year ago in the days after the parade shooting, CBS 2 sat down with the Moran family. Mike and Marcia had been shot. Their kids stayed home from the parade for the very first time.
The family would never be the same, but now, they say they're focusing their energy on moving forward.
"Strength is what we gain from the madness we survive," said Marcia.
She was reading the words of a tattoo, which is how Marcia chose to honor the mass shooting she survived in the last weeks leading up to July 4 this year.
Perlman: "Does it feel like what happened here is madness?"
Marcia: "It is. I feel like it's unexplainable. It's madness. It's not logical."
The ink of her tattoo is just inches from the same spot on her foot where she was shot. Her husband Mike was also shot in the leg.
They were sitting on a bench and, like many, were forced to run.
"I couldn't logically explain what had happened or how fortunate we were to have survived it," Marcia said.
Her daughter Peyton is back from her first year at college. She said she is forever changed after getting the call last year alerting her that her parents were hurt.
"Even still, going through town it's kind of a little creepy seeing where it happened," Peyton said. "I don't think I'll ever feel truly 100% safe again."
Last year, Peyton penned a letter to her community about her worst day. It's been seen thousands of times. She wrote about always looking for exits, now her accepted reality.
"I think that's something I'm always going to do to be more prepared and keep myself safe," she said.
Marcia and Peyton show their matching 4-4-4 tattoos, which are another way to feel safe. They're the tattoos they got together after the shooting and before Peyton left for college. The numbers are a symbol of protection.
"You have protection over you," said Peyton.
Marcia admitted one year later, her coping skills are different than most.
"For me, I like to say I was a victim that day, but I'm not a victim," she said. "As soon as they opened up the area of where it happened, I was down there that day. I went down there. I sat there with my husband where we sat. I retraced our steps. Because for me, it was really important to just get back in it, to face it and not let it be something that took control of my life."
She said facing her fears has given her back some control.
"I look at this as this is one event. I've had other things happen in my life and I shall move forward," Marcia said.
It's a feeling Peyton shares.
"I don't want to live in fear because of any of this," she said.
They're trying to find strength in the madness.
"If the impossible happened of something so bad, then I think something so great can also happen," Marcia said.
