R.I.P. Taylor Bradford

From the information I know about what happened this weekend, it seems like such a senseless act. Something that did not need to happen. I didn’t personally know Taylor Bradford, but I’m friends with a lot of his friends on the football team. I was at work when I first heard what happened but at that point they hadn’t pronounced him dead. All it said on the news was that the dorms were on lock down. That affected me because I live in the dorms. I wondered if I would be able to get home. But I did get home and I didn’t learn anything else about the situation until I woke up the next morning.

When I woke up I learned that all our classes had been cancelled. I thought hey no school! Awesome. But it’s hard to be excited about it when it was caused by such a tragic event. Then I talked to my roommate and found out some more information about what happened.

From what I understand, Taylor went with some of the guys from the football team to the casinos on Friday. Taylor won some ridiculous amount of money (I’ve heard $15,000 but I’ve also heard up to $30,000…anyways it was a lot of money). The shooter knew that Taylor had won the money and killed him in hopes of stealing it. How could someone be so desperate for money that they would kill a person over it? And it was someone who knew Taylor. Someone who knew what a genuinely good person he was. It seems so dumb. Here you are, you’ve just killed someone, and for what? The killer didn’t get the money. It was so senseless. I feel for his family. I can’t imagine having to get that phone call as a parent and having to drive all the way from Nashville only to arrive and never see your son alive again. It’s so sad.

I don’t feel any less safe on campus. It wasn’t a random attack. It was someone who knew Taylor. I think this kind of situation just makes you pause, even if only for a moment, and realize what you have. It’s almost surreal that something like this could happen so close to us, or anywhere for that matter. I believe though that everything happens for a reason, and even though it seems there could be no possible reason for this to happen, it helps us get through it.

But is there anything we can do about this? Whose fault, if any, was it? Is society to blame? Poverty? How can we get back to normal? There are so many questions but no answers. Taylor was a good guy. He wasn’t my friend, but I feel like I knew him. We all knew him, or someone like him. It could happen to anyone. This does affect us. Even if we don’t know what to do about it.