For kids who saw shooting, trauma lingers

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — New video shows the fight at a community center that led to a parent allegedly firing shots at the crowd last week.

A fight between teens at the Whitehaven Community Center was stopped by gunfire. Kids who witnessed say they are still affected by trauma days later.

Tequila Curry , 43, was arrested and charged for pepper-spraying and allegedly shooting one of the girls in the arm.

“They got the fighting this and that and when I seen it, I was scared and stuff and I was like why would y’all go walk over there to watch a fight,” said Hillcrest high student Winter Harmon.

Harmon, who was a witness, says Curry’s actions are still with her.

“It all happened so fast and this and that. It was just crazy and scary because she was aiming at the crowd too,” she said.

Henry Isaac, a licensed professional counselor, says children who see this type of violence need to seek treatment.

“Well when you talk about trauma for a child, it gets them in a position where they are fearful, where they are anxious, where there could be depression, high anxiety,” Isaac said. “We can get them into a situation where we teach EMDR, where we do some trauma-related things that will help them work through their anxiety, work through the depression and you help them understand what is trauma.”

Isaac wants young peoiple to knw that violence in any form is not normal and shouldn’t be treated as such. He says it’s crucial for parents to watch their child’s behavior after a traumatic event.

“The key to it is, the parents have got to know what those behaviors look like, they’ve got to know if the child is having nightmares, if the child is being fearful,” Isaac said.

As for Winter, she just wants peace.

“They need to stop the violence because it is very — it hurts kids and stuff,” she said.

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