: How to help a 6-year-old who witnessed a school shooting? I am not a parent, but am asking this for a good friend. He has a 6-year-old daughter who was in the attached elementary school during a recent high school shooting.

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Almost all (if not all) schools which experience a shooting like the one you described offer almost immediate counseling services to any student requesting them free of charge, even if they need to bring professionals in from outside. I suggest that the parent start there.

Mental illness is real, and there's no reason not to explain that the shooter was gravely mentally ill, and the illness expressed itself in the desire to do damage to others. While headlines are sensational, statistics might help understand the vanishingly small chance that she in particular will be harmed this way. Taking your cues from the child through active observation and listening is important. For problematic situations (anxiety, etc.), that's what the counselor is for.

Other possibilities (depending on the child's reaction to the situation) include changing schools/homeschooling. It all boils down to, "it depends". In addition to that, there are a lot of resources on the internet that cover this topic, which don't need to be recreated here.

School Shootings and Other Traumatic Events: How To Talk To Students
Talking to Children about the Shooting
How To Talk With Kids About Terrible Things