BAY CITY, MI – Sundays in the Boomer household are typically dedicated to finishing up household chores, mowing the lawn and the like before gathering around the television to catch the 1 p.m. Detroit Lions game.
And Sunday, Sept. 28, was no different, until it was.
MLive photojournalist Kaytie Boomer was enjoying the quiet disconnect from the outside world when she got a text from an old neighbor, asking what was going on in Michigan.
“I immediately pulled up MLive to look and I saw this church shooting, and I was like, ‘Oh, my gosh,’” Boomer said. “I was like, ‘Is it my area or is it not? Grand Blanc? Yep, I’ve got to go.”
The shooting Boomer referenced was at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Grand Blanc Township. Five people, including the shooter, have died from either gunshots or from the fire the suspect set to the church. More were injured.
Before even looking at her work phone, Boomer began packing her gear to get on the road. She called her boss, MLive Multimedia Specialist J. Scott Park, to get the rundown and was on her way.
Such is life for a photojournalist with MLive. Boomer chalked it up to being “a part of the job,” but acknowledged it can be stressful because, it’s true, sometimes she likes to live life outside of work.
“I’m not always absolutely ready to go at any minute,” she said. “But for work stuff, I do tend to make sure all my batteries are always charged, my laptop’s ready, I have my charger, I have a battery in my car that I can charge stuff with.
“You never know what you’re rolling up to,” she continued. “It’s definitely nerve wracking coming to a scene that you have no idea what it looks like, or if there’s, you know, anybody still at the scene that has been harmed or anything of that nature of what you’re going to see.”
In this case, Boomer captured photos and video from the scene outside the suspect’s home. She attended a press conference, getting photos of local, state and federal law enforcement officials and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. She also flew a drone above the church, capturing images detailing the remnants of the scene.
Similarly, I called Flint Journal editor Roberto Acosta when I saw the MLive push notification of an “active shooter” at a Grand Blanc church with “multiple victims.”
I volunteered my services in any way I could because, even though I have covered Bay County for more than a year, I spent the preceding two years covering Genesee County. I knew many of the police officers responding to the scene. Without knowing the details of what had happened, there was concern not only for victims but for them. What were they walking into?
My contributions pale in comparison to those on the ground of the scene, like Boomer, but I did what I could. In fact, the efforts to cover the shooting encompassed much of MLive. Those on the ground the day of the shooting included journalists from the Flint, Saginaw and Bay City teams. Those behind the scenes, either directing traffic or helping publish information provided by those at the scene stretched across the state.
In the days since the shooting, the grind has continued. MLive journalists have continued to work around the clock to learn more about what happened, who was hurt, who the shooter was and why it all happened.
That sort of coverage is possible thanks to people willing and able to bring people the news at the drop of a hat, while doing so with the tact and responsibility that not only comes with the job but with being members of the communities we cover.
“It is a super stressful, high anxiety, fast-paced environment,” Boomer said. “But it’s super important to me to be a good human first and a good journalist second.”
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