October 15, 2014
Judge Tom
1

An exceptional act of kindness by teens

Charlie Vacca children

You may have heard about this tragedy that occurred in August, 2014 in Arizona. But you may not have heard the rest of the story.

A 9-year-old New Jersey girl was at a gun range with her parents. She was being taught by a 39-year-old shooting instructor in the handling of an Uzi sub-machine gun. The recoil from the gun overtook the girl and her instructor was accidentally shot and killed.

Instructor, Charlie Vacca, had four children. A few weeks following their father’s death, Christopher, 11, Tylor, 14, Elizabeth, 15 and Ashley, 19 wrote the 9-year-old girl a letter. They also made a video in the hopes that she will eventually see it.

Vacca children (photo from Goodnow law firm)

Vacca children (photo from Goodnow law firm)

Each of the Vacca children spoke to the girl in the hopes that she will find peace. Maybe, “Someday  we can meet you, hug you, and tell you that it’s okay,” commented Christopher. Tylor stated “We think about you, we are worried about you, we pray for you . . . Our dad would want the same thing.” Ashley added that “Like you, we are living through this tragic event that we cannot shut off.” Elizabeth said “Our dad would want you to know that you should move forward with your life. You should not let this define you. You should love yourself and love your family.”

Brave, courageous comments from young victims. Forgiveness, grace and compassion is a lesson for us all.

 

Judge Tom

The Author Judge Tom

Judge Tom is the founder and moderator of AsktheJudge.info. He is a retired juvenile judge and spent 23 years on the bench. He has written several books for lawyers and judges as well as teens and parents including 'Teen Cyberbullying Investigated' (Free Spirit Publishing) and 'Every Vote Matters: the Power of Your Voice, from Student Elections to the Supreme Court' (Free Spirit Publishing). In 2020, the American Bar Association published "Cyberbullying Law," the nation's first case-law book written for lawyers, judges and law students. When he's not answering teens' questions, Judge Tom volunteers with the American Red Cross and can be found hiking, traveling and reading.

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1 Comment

  • Kira
    November 1, 2014 10:49 am count( 0 )

    I enjoyed listening to Judge Tom. The article that I chose to read and discuss is the article entitled “an exceptional act of kindness by teens”. Too often we focus on the negative of this generation and I believe it is important to highlight the good things that teens do as we need to make the goodness the norm, not the negative. I am amazed that this family was able to dig deep and be so gracious with their response to their father’s tragic death. I can only imagine what both families are experiencing from this tragedy but hopefully the letters and videos sent from the children will help the young girl recover and move on with her life.
    Thank you for writing us, Kira. -ATJ.info