Liberty lends support to families of San Bernardino shooting victims

The day after terrorists opened fire at a holiday party at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, Calif., on Dec. 2, killing 14 and injuring 22, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell and his wife, Becki, were watching the news coverage and felt compassion for the families of the victims and for a police officer who lived to retell the horror.

“I was emotional hearing Lt. Mike Madden talk about the carnage he witnessed when he walked into the crime scene,” Becki Falwell said. “I can’t imagine how scary it was for someone to be in that situation.”

She called the San Bernardino Police Department that night and left a message for Madden. The Falwells then tasked Liberty’s Financial Aid and Admissions Offices with working on a plan to offer scholarship assistance to the children of the victims and the first responder.

Dan Bolton, Liberty’s director of spiritual programs, organized the effort to personally contact each of the families to share condolences on behalf of the university and to inform them of the scholarship assistance.

“From arranging scholarship details to reaching out to the families, multiple departments made this happen,” Bolton said.

President Falwell shared his thoughts on the tragedy during the Dec. 4 Convocation and told Liberty students that the school was reaching out to the families. His remarks that followed, encouraging students to take advantage of the university’s concealed carry classes, garnered national attention.

Madden returned Becki Falwell’s call the next week and expressed his gratitude for the offer to help his family, too.

“He called me on my cell phone and we talked for a long time. Mike was so grateful and appreciative of us reaching out,” she said. “He had heard Jerry on The Sean Hannity Show and told me to tell him he supports him and to stand strong. He was deeply touched by our offer to help with his children’s education.”

Bolton said a lot of the families that Liberty reached had become Christians recently and that the offer of a Christian education was well received.

“You really could hear the sadness in their spirit as they spoke of the loss of their family member,” Bolton said. “I will never ever forget the gratitude they had when they recognized that Liberty had done something so special for their family.”

He said he is proud that Liberty is able to help these families, and the gesture shows the heart of the institution. He said Liberty will continue to pray for the families as they grieve their loss.

“While everyone was still just talking about the shooting in the news, Liberty was coming up with a plan to help serve these people,” he said. “I have no doubt that within a few years, there will be some of those family members here, whether studying online or residential. It is part of Liberty — who we are. These families no longer have a reason to worry about receiving a quality education.”