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UVA shooting hits close to home: My 2 Cents

WFMY Anchor Lauren Coleman reflects on UVA's deadly shooting and her time as a student at the university.

GREENSBORO, North Carolina — It's time for My 2 Cents.

Three dead and two injured. 

The news of Sunday's deadly shooting at the University of Virginia sent shockwaves across the country, but for me it really hits hard. 

For four years - I called UVA home. 

As an alum, I was saddened to see reports that a student shot and killed three people and put several others in danger. 

The first thing that went through my mind was… are my friends who still live in the area ok? Were any of my former professors hurt? How could something like this happen?

It was just this past April when I was back on UVA's grounds for Black Alumni Weekend. It's an event I look forward to every other year. A chance to reconnect with old classmates and see how much the university has changed since I graduated in 2014.  

Though tragedy can strike anywhere, as a student I always felt safe. Walking the lawn late at night or grabbing a bite to eat on "The Corner" with friends. 

When you go to college, you want to feel safe. For many students, it's the first time they've ever been away from family and lived on their own. Knowing that my fellow Wahoos are living on edge tonight due to the selfish and hateful acts of another student is heartbreaking. 

Let's continue to pray for the victims and their families, the students, faculty, and residents of the Charlottesville community. We will get through this together. 

That's My 2 Cents.  

RELATED: UVA student in custody after 3 killed, 2 injured in campus shooting 

RELATED: 'RIP to one of our own': Hough graduate killed in UVA shooting 

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