ST. LOUIS — It's a day that impacted everyone in St. Louis.
During the morning hours of Monday, Oct. 24, 2022, a gunman opened fire inside Central Visual and Performing Arts High School.
The tragedy killed student, Alexzandria Bell and teacher, Jean Kuczka.
While we remember the lives lost on that day, we also remember the lives that are now forever changed. We're talking about the survivors, people who were in the building when the gunfire went off.
5 On Your Side sat down with former CVPA student, Rayquan Strickland, who is now using his pain to appreciate every single moment life gives him.
His voice was one that the St. Louis community got used to hearing. Strickland used his God-given talent to share the pain he and his classmates were feeling.
"It was such a struggle to even just read that that was my reality," he said.
For Strickland, the morning of Oct. 24, 2022, started with a rush of overwhelming thoughts.
"As I walked onto campus, everything was so different. The energy, the quietness. It seemed so surreal," he said.
Little did the high school senior know, just hours later, a gunman would find his way into Strickland's beloved school hallways.
Strickland wrote about the trauma in an essay for college.
"Above me, I heard an aggressive kick and a voice saying, 'Open up this door.' After multiple times of kicking the door, I remember hearing gunfire and students in the classes above me jumping out of the windows to safety. One boy screamed, 'He shot my teacher.' Officers rushed into the building and then there was a battle of the bullets. After I made it back to safety, the news confirmed two deaths. Two angels that symbolize love. It was this moment that my life forever changed," he read from the essay.
In a matter of minutes, the south St. Louis high school became the latest target of a school shooting.
Strickland said it was at that moment that his view on life changed.
"So many people don't realize how life can truly flash before your eyes. It helps you appreciate people; it helps you appreciate your loved ones because you never know when your last is your last," he said.
Something the whole community witnessed following this tragedy was the resiliency of the CVPA community. Strickland said it didn't shock him.
"No one can ever say we were weak, or we were ever defeated. Yes, we were thrown off. Yes, we were hit, but we were never defeated, and never will be defeated," he said.
One year later, a freshman in college states away, Strickland still sits at his piano, singing his same song, but with a greater appreciation for each new day.
"It helped me to realize that you cannot take life for granted," he said.
Strickland said the main message he wants to share with everyone that he learned from that day is to "love on each other" because you never know when your life can change in an instant.
