Dear Commons Community,

A 2-mile-wide tornado tore through the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore on Monday, killing at least 51 people while destroying entire tracts of homes, piling cars atop one another, and trapping two dozen school children beneath rubble.  It was the deadliest U.S. tornado since one killed 161 people in Joplin, Missouri, two years ago.

The devastating twister killed at least 51 people and maybe as many as a hundred including seven elementary school students.  At Plaza Towers Elementary School, a brave teacher made the ultimate sacrifice by risking her life to save her students. The teacher laid across six children, using her body as a shield to protect her young students from the violent tornado.

Rescuers discovered the bodies of seven children believed to have drowned in a pool of water at Plaza Towers Elementary. Authorities fear up to 30 more children at the elementary school are dead.

Right before the storm hit at 3 p.m., around 30 children — 4th, 5th, and 6th graders — were taken from their school to a nearby church for shelter. A reporter asked a medic about the injuries at the elementary school, but the medic “just shook his head.”

Along with Plaza Towers Elementary School, the massive tornado also destroyed another school, Briarwood Elementary.

Our hearts and prayers go out to the people of Moore!

Tony