and just believe that i ll be okay because death is an okay thing, and it s going to be a better place, heaven. it s better than the world itself. yeah. deena, in some strange way did this teach you anything about family and life and just how fleeting and in one moment life can change? oh, absolutely. it just really puts things in perspective, and it s very humbling and it makes you appreciate your family and your loved ones, and like you said your life in general. yeah. i would imagine thinking oh, my gosh, my daughter is in the car out there. absolutely. that was my main focus is getting my oldest daughter out alive as well as getting to the car to make sure that my other daughter was okay and then getting home to my husband and our other three kids. how did you get out of the store?
i can tell you i m doing a lot better than i was doing yesterday. you know, with the support of my family it s been a lot better. yeah. leighton, you were out in the parking lot. what did you see? well, i just saw a lot of people fall and hit the ground, and then i heard so many shots. it was just i was just frozen and screaming my mom s name because i didn t know what to think. yeah. what s mommy telling you to help you get through this? i know it s a tough time and deena, a tough thing to have to explain to your kids. but leighton, what s your mom telling you? my mom is telling me that i can t be afraid of life because these things are common, but i have to live it to the highest point that i can, not life-threatening, but i have to, you know, do what i always do
better place, heaven. it s better than the world itself. yeah. deena, in some strange way did this teach you anything about family and life and just how fleeting and in one moment life can change? oh, absolutely. it just really puts things in perspective, and it s very humbling and it makes you appreciate your family and your loved ones, and like you said your life in general. yeah. i would imagine thinking oh, my gosh, my daughter is in the car out there. absolutely. that was my main focus is getting my oldest daughter out alive as well as getting to the car to make sure that my other daughter was okay and then getting home to my husband and our other three kids. how did you get out of the store? well, i actually kept dragging my daughter by the arm because her first initial
you know, with the support of my family it s been a lot better. yeah. leighton, you were out in the parking lot. what did you see? well, i just saw a lot of people fall and hit the ground, and then i heard so many shots. it was just i was just frozen and screaming my mom s name because i didn t know what to think. yeah. what s mommy telling you to help you get through this? i know it s a tough time and deena, a tough thing to have to explain to your kids. but leighton, what s your mom telling you? my mom is telling me that i can t be afraid of life because these things are common, but i have to live it to the highest point that i can, not life-threatening, but i have to, you know, do what i always do and just believe that i ll be okay because death is an okay thing, and it s going to be a
sure that my other kids were okay, so we just ran across the parking lot until we, you know, finally got to our vehicle, and there were other gracious individuals there that were offering, you know, us to get into their vehicle for safety. lots of hugging tonight. lots of time siblings, you guys like to fight and what have you. do you appreciate your family and your sister more now? yeah, very much. there was a very high chance that i could have lost not just my mom but my sister, and my sister s friend also, so definitely put things in perspective for you. yeah. deena, want to give you the last word here n.tragedies like this it s hard to explain to children what it means, if anything. adults don t always know. what piece of advice do you have for not only your daughters but for families watching this and who are dealing with tragedies. you know, my heart goes out to them, and honestly, i just