Once the news of the Von Maur shooting hit Omaha, everyone was in shock. Crimes against the inculpable seem to happen all the time, which may not alarm us as much, but when it happens in our own hometown, in the city of Omaha, that’s when we start to grieve a little more.

The photos of a 19-year-old man coming out of a department store elevator, with a AK-47 style gun, selfishly ready to steal the innocent lives of anyone that happened to be shopping at that very moment may seem too indecent and gruesome to show to the public.

Getting first hand knowledge of this as a newsroom messenger at the Omaha World-Herald, readers would call in after the shooting to inform the paper that we had no respect for the victims, and photographs like that should be censored.

If this crime would have taken place anywhere other than Omaha, would the issue of indecent photographs of the truth be relevant? Would anyone complain if they did not have personal ties to the tragedy?

What people must understand is that violence happens everywhere, and even though the entire Omaha community holds a very sincere sympathy for the ones lost in the shooting, censoring the event hints at the idea that we are too vulnerable to face the truth, the truth being that every community needs to take these happenings as a call to action.

If people who feel the need to commit these crimes are turning to harming others, the extra help and condolences, which they are so desperately seeking, should be given without obligations.

Violence happened here, not far away. This can happen anywhere. Photos can bring home violence, more than national news, or photos like that in the local mall make it a little more real and personal. Never the less it is hurtful.