Mindy Finkelstein survived being shot by a white supremacist at a Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles when she was 16. Today, she shares her story to help other survivors. - TODAYShow
This story is part of TODAY's series"Survivors: What Happens After the Headlines Fade." For more stories and videos from the series, click here.
“Now as an adult, as a mother, as a wife, I almost feel sad for the teenager that I was in that I didn’t end up having what some would consider a normal teenage experience, because my life was altered forever that day,” Finkelstein told TODAY. “I’m proud of myself for the road I took afterwards.” A week after she was released from the hospital following the shooting, Finkelstein was in a wheelchair at a cousin’s bat mitzvah. She found herself receiving hugs from a group of Holocaust survivors in the family.
“I suffered pretty dramatically from PTSD and still do, not just from being shot but also because I assumed what happened to me would change the course of society because that’s what people told me,’’ she said. “When it didn’t, it’s really hard.” “I’ve formed a friendship with other survivors of mass shootings, from Virginia Tech to Sandy Hook,” she said. “It’s a club we are part of, and we are supportive of one another.”A different landscape
“I was the poster child for it and now it doesn’t even merit a blip on the radar,” Finkelstein said. “It’s very strange.” While many survivors of mass shootings refuse to make any mention of the gunman, Finkelstein believes it’s important to remember Buford, who remains in prison.
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