A look from one of the Rigby School shooting victims
RIGBY, Idaho (KIFI) - May 6, 2021, was a day that many in Rigby wish had never happened. It struck down fear and depression for many of those who were in Rigby Middle School that day especially for those who were shot.
Addison Scarbrough was in 6th grade and had been dropped off at school by her mother that morning just like any ordinary day. Later in the morning during one of her classes, Addison had gone out of the class to use the restroom. As she was strolling down the hallway to get there, another girl had followed behind. That same girl then had shot Addison and then proceeded to shoot one other student and a teacher before she was caught and restrained.
Then the calls came ringing in. Addison's mother, Jennifer Scarbrough, had received the direct call to be alerted that her daughter was involved in the school shooting. The mother says that a lifetime had passed before the next words were spoken as if she was just frozen in fear.
She then made the call to her husband, Anthony Scarbrough. At the time, he was just helping his brother with fixing his truck. After the call, he sprinted with his own truck down the road to get to the school. He screamed out for her daughter, "Where is Addison Scarbrough?!" He finally found her being pulled into the ambulance outside the entrance.
When he opened the doors, Addison said, "Hi Dad." Mr. Scarbrough broke down into tears and yet Addison kept insisting to her father that she was okay. Her family claims that through this moment, their daughter was stronger than the rest of her family.
The ambulance had driven to IRMC in Idaho Falls where the family was reunited It had been discovered that Addison had been shot in the arm. It had shattered her bones within that arm to where it was completely broken, but this injury was not life threatening at all.
After months of therapy, the arm is now mostly back to normal. The family says there are one or two pieces of bone that are still stuck in that arm, but Addison has been comfortably playing basketball this season.
The family was shocked to find out who had shot their daughter. Addison and the shooter had actually been really good friends in art class where they sat together and laughed about the art they had created. They say Addison had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time and that the shooter had been undergoing lots of mental problems.
Addison wants to use her story through this shooting to be her motivation for the future. She wants to become a school counselor and an advocate for children within schools. Her parents told me that she wants this sort of event to never happen again and to be able to comfort children through their struggles.
