![“[Building nerf blasters] became this outlet of creativity for me that hasn't been matched by anything else. The process [of] making a build complete to your desire is such a painstakingly difficult process, but I've had to learn from [the skills needed from] soldering to proper painting. There's so many different options for everything, if you think about it, it exists. The best part is [that] if it doesn't exist, you can build it yourself," Ishaan Parate said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/DSC_8149-900x604.jpg)
![“When I came into high school, I was ready to be a follower. But DECA was a game changer for me. It helped me overcome my fear of public speaking, and it's played such a major role in who I've become today. To be able to successfully lead a chapter of 150 students, an officer team and be one of the upperclassmen I once really admired is something I'm [really] proud of,” Anvitha Tummala ('21) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/Screen-Shot-2021-07-25-at-9.50.05-AM-900x594.png)
![“I think getting up in the morning and having a sense of purpose [is exciting]. I think without a certain amount of drive, life is kind of obsolete and mundane, and I think having that every single day is what makes each day unique and kind of makes life exciting,” Neymika Jain (12) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Screen-Shot-2017-06-03-at-4.54.16-PM.png)
![“My slogan is ‘slow feet, don’t eat, and I’m hungry.’ You need to run fast to get where you are–you aren't going to get those championships if you aren't fast,” Angel Cervantes (12) said. “I want to do well in school on my tests and in track and win championships for my team. I live by that, [and] I can do that anywhere: in the classroom or on the field.”](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/DSC5146-900x601.jpg)
![“[Volleyball has] taught me how to fall correctly, and another thing it taught is that you don’t have to be the best at something to be good at it. If you just hit the ball in a smart way, then it still scores points and you’re good at it. You could be a background player and still make a much bigger impact on the team than you would think,” Anya Gert (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AnnaGert_JinTuan_HoHPhotoEdited-600x900.jpeg)
![“I'm not nearly there yet, but [my confidence has] definitely been getting better since I was pretty shy and timid coming into Harker my freshman year. I know that there's a lot of people that are really confident in what they do, and I really admire them. Everyone's so driven and that has really pushed me to kind of try to find my own place in high school and be more confident,” Alyssa Huang (’20) said.](https://harkeraquila.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/AlyssaHuang_EmilyChen_HoHPhoto-900x749.jpeg)
A female driver attempting to breach White House security this morning was shot, according to The Washington Post, following a car chase which ended at the Capitol building and injured a policeman.
There are conflicting reports on the condition of the driver, but major news outlets report her as dead or injured.
“One of our officers was struck. He appears to be conscious and breathing,” said Chief Kim Dine, the Capitol Hill police chief, in a press conference. “As far as we know, no other officer has been shot.”
A child found in the car with the driver was later removed from the scene. Witnesses saw the woman and child speed away in a black Infiniti while shots from policemen were fired at them.
Silicon Valley House representative, Mike Honda, who was in Washington at the time, reports the safety of his staff.
“As details emerge, my thoughts go out to Capitol Hill police & those injured. My staff and I are safe,” tweeted the congressman.
In a phone interview between TalonWP and Anthony Kusich, Honda’s Communications director in DC, he recounted the scene at the office early this afternoon EST. Due to lock down, he was not able to leave the building and observe the scene on a larger scale.
“Every office has a little corner that if there’s an emergency, we alert everyone in all the offices for all the congressmen,” he said. “Once we heard there was an emergency outside, we took shelter in the central office and waited until the show was over.”
Harker alumnus and current sophomore at Georgetown University Daanish Jamal (‘12) reflects on the shooting, stating that the trauma had no direct impact on nearby students as far as he knows.
“I haven’t heard much, just what I’ve read in the papers,” Daanish said. “Spooky stuff.”
Margaret Krackeler (‘12), also a sophomore at Georgetown University, describes the students’ reaction to both the government shutdown and the shooting.
“We’re in the mix of it all. Everyone here’s gonna be talking about it for a while,” she said. “It’s a really big deal. Any shooting is. It’s going to cause a lot more discussion.”
The shooting took place two days after the government shutdown.
