CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp documented the bedrooms of nine children who died in school shootings. The collaborative project, which took place over more than six years, involved visiting families across the country who have kept their children’s rooms in the state they were left.
The project originated from Hartman’s stated frustration with the repetitive nature of news coverage regarding school shootings. Hartman said he believed that by 2018, the volume of such events had caused the public to become numb to the impact on victims and their families. He partnered with Bopp, a commercial photographer, to create what Bopp described as portraits of people who are no longer present.
The documentation focuses on domestic details and personal belongings left behind by the students. Photographed items include unmade beds, library books that are now 12 years overdue, outfits prepared for the following school day, and notes written by the children. Bopp noted that specific items like hair ties on doorknobs and uncapped toothpaste tubes were used to reflect the personalities of the children.
The families of nine victims participated in the project. These included the families of Alyssa, 14; Carmen, 16; Charlotte, 6; Dominic, 14; Fletcher, 8; Gracie, 15; Hallie, 9; Jackie, 9; and Luke, 15. The parents stated they allowed the documentation in hopes that the images would convey their grief to the public and encourage viewers to seek change.
The project highlights a shift in how media organizations approach the reporting of recurring national events. By moving away from what Hartman described as the "treadmill" of standard news coverage, this work sets a precedent for long-form, visual documentation focused on the aftermath of violence rather than the events themselves. It captures the physical preservation of student life, from elementary school children as young as 6 to high school students aged 16, showing the age range of those affected by such incidents over the documented six-year period.
The documentation is now part of a digital production featuring visual design and development by Grace Manthey and Taylor Johnston. While the project spans more than six years of photography and interviews, the source does not provide specific dates for when the individual shootings occurred or when the rooms were first photographed. The families listed as participants include the Alhadeffs, Schentrups, Hoyers, Bacons, Scruggs, Cazares, Blackwells, Muehlbergers, and Merkels. Further details regarding specific policy outcomes or upcoming legislative votes related to the parents' call for change were not reported.