Christopher Haxel is a reporter for the Manhattan Mercury where he often covers courtroom and police news. Aside from working at the Mercury, Haxel is also a freelancer for The Washington Post.
I interviewed Haxel about how he covered his first mass shooting. The mass shooting he covered took place on February 25, 2016 in Hesston, Kan. Lawnmower factory employee Cedric Ford killed three people and injured 14. Haxel was sent to cover the mass shooting by The Post.
Important points of the interview focused on how Haxel went about covering the mass shooting, his emotions towards covering the traumatic experience, and his advice for himself and other journalists who may cover mass shootings or any other traumatic event.
The following transcript has been edited lightly for clarity and brevity.
How did you decide what angles to take when covering the mass shooting?
Well, as part of freelancing for the Post I was basically the eyes and ears on the ground. So there were a couple reporters in D.C. who had already been writing about it and they had all sorts of unanswered questions. If I were writing my own article I would have taken a totally different approach.
You said you would have taken a different approach if it were your own article, what approach do you think you would have taken?
Well, if it would have been for my own I wouldn’t have to worry about filing anything. I would have known I had until noon the next day to come up with the article. I probably would have immediately tried to find family members before anything else because that’s sort of the easier thing to find right at the beginning because all the people are in the hospital.
How do you as a journalist approach family members who have just experienced something so traumatic?
It’s tough. I ended up doing that that night. Really, you just have to be polite. It’s not a super compassionate scenario as a reporter.
Did covering this event have any impact on you as a journalist?
Yeah I mean it is kind of weird this is the first mass shooting that I have been a part of covering. I mean it is kind of distant no matter how good the media covers or how good they do personalizing the tragedy it is always someplace else. This area wasn’t my home or anywhere I have ever been but once I got there you can tell something bad has happened just recently. You walk into the gas station and the clerk seems really tired and drained. There are law enforcement officials all over the place. The media was all over the place.
Did you face any ethical dilemmas?
Um, no. I never really had any issues. There were a couple times when I would call people or knock on doors because we were trying to locate family members or people who knew the shooter or the shooters ex-girlfriend. There were a couple times where you could tell someone else has already bothered them about this and they don’t really want to talk to you. In the long end, if they aren’t telling you directly to go away or leave them alone then you keep pressing on.
Did the community seem different following the event?
I got into town at 11 p.m. on Thursday, worked through the night and left around 3 p.m. on Friday. I wasn’t there long enough to be able to answer that question.
Did you experience the story emotionally?
The emotional experience for me was certainly less than what it would have been if I would have stuck around for another 24 to 48 hours. It was dealing with public officials and looking at court records.
On your drive home did you have any feelings towards the event?
Yeah, I mean I felt a little guilty because its kind of good for me career wise covering this event, sharing a byline on the Washington Post. Yet, the only reason this is happening is because of tragic circumstances. As a journalist it’s a huge story and its exciting, a big adrenaline rush. As a human it’s a sad thing and you don’t want it to happen again.
What aspect of the mass shooting affected you the most?
The thing that struck me the most was that so much of the carnage was in this huge factory in the central part of this small town. Everybody in town knew people that worked there. For a while everyone in town was wondering who died. The scope of how one guy in thirty minutes can have such a huge affect on a town of 4,000.
What image do you think about when you think about the event?
The factory. It was all roped off with police tape.
As a journalist what advice would you give to another journalist that may have to cover a similar event?
One thing is try to be prepared. Be there as soon as possible with all the equipment you need. Other than that, I think it is tough. You almost feel like a buzzard asking people these questions especially when there is a media frenzy like this. If you think of the bigger picture stay polite and compassionate. It is tough you feel like you are bothering people who are in the process of trying to grieve but it is important that the rest of the country and the world understand what is actually happening.
Mass Shooting Journalism 