[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 146 (2000), Part 2]
[Senate]
[Page 2014]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



                         DEATH OF KAYLA ROLLAND

  Mr. ABRAHAM. Mr. President, I rise, with sadness and a heavy heart 
today. On Tuesday, Kayla Rolland, a 6-year-old first grader was shot 
and killed by a classmate at Theo J. Buell Elementary School in Mount 
Morris Township, MI.
  As Kayla's family mourns their lost, I am certain in my heart that 
Kayla's spirit is in a better place.
  It is my hope that in this difficult time Kayla's family will find 
comfort in one another, in their community, in their faith and in the 
knowledge that across America their fellow citizens feel their grief.
  Such a violent death is a great tragedy. But for someone so young, to 
have her hopes and dreams cut short by gunfire--stretches the limits of 
our power to understand and to accept.
  As the father of two daughters, also in the first grade, I can't get 
out of my mind the pictures of Buell Elementary School, as so many 
frightened young children facing a terror few of us would want to know 
firsthand, rushed into the arms of their parents.
  I thank God each day that my kids return home safe, away from the 
dangers of this world and from the senseless violence that haunts our 
communities.
  But, as our Nation tries to address the questions and issues that 
surrounded this tragic event, I hope that, for the next few days, we 
focus on Kayla's family.
  A family lost a child this week, and that we must not forget.
  There is a time and a place to address the circumstances surrounding 
Kayla's death and the public policy issues involved, and I look forward 
to those discussions.
  But, I hope that we will not allow the policy debates and the media 
rush to examine this tragic event cause us to forget the immediate 
needs of a family in mourning.
  Above all, I hope that we will keep the Rolland family and Kayla in 
our thoughts and prayers.
  In closing, Mr. President, on behalf of my wife Jane and myself, I 
would like to express our family's deepest sympathies to the Rolland 
family.

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