Matthew Hardy was 5 years old and a first-grader at Cleveland Elementary when he witnessed the shooting. His older sister, Crystal, with whom he was walking to school, was shot in the hand. We didn't really know what was going on. For years afterward, his sister would duck at the sound of fireworks, he said. Now 27 and a pastor at Horizon Fellowship, Hardy still lives just three blocks from the old school.
Crystal lives in Phoenix.
Though he initially became angry and abandoned religion, Hardy said the shooting incident shaped his later decision to return to the church. It makes you really think that your life could be gone in an instant. Hardy's advice in the aftermath of the Santana shooting is for Christians to obtain biblical counseling. All can benefit from some true soul-searching, he believes.