PULASKI COUNTY, Ark. — Following this week’s tragic shooting that claimed the life of a 7-year-old boy in Pulaski County, child trauma experts are reminding families that the emotional impact extends far beyond the initial tragedy.
While much of the attention has focused on the child who died, experts say children who witness or are involved in traumatic events can carry those emotional scars long after the headlines fade.
Jennifer Long, executive director of the Children’s Protection Center, said trauma affects every child and the whole family unit touched by an event like this.
7-year-old shot and killed by another child with unattended gun in Pulaski County, 1 arrested
“When there are children in the home where any abuse or neglect or any kind of traumatic event has happened, it affects all of them, not just the one who might have passed, but the ones who witnessed it happening, and maybe the one who accidentally might have caused it,” Long said. “And that is an incredible weight to bear.”…