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Granddaughter of Unruh survivor hid in Florida school

Jim Walsh
The Courier-Post
The Sept. 6, 1949, edition of the Evening Courier tells the story of Howard Unruh massacre. The veteran wounded three and killed 13 before police captured him after a standoff at his Camden apartment.

When a killer stalked her Florida school Wednesday, Carly Novell hid in a closet to save her life.

Just like her grandfather had done almost 70 years earlier to escape the homicidal rampage of Howard Unruh in Camden.

"This is my grandpa," Novell, a senior at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, said in a tweet that included photos of Charles Cohen as a boy and an older man.

"When he was 12 years old, he hid in a closet while his family was murdered during the first mass shooting in America. Almost 70 years later, I also hid in a closet from a murderer.

"These events shouldn't be repetitive," she continued. "Something has to change."

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Wednesday's attack, which killed at least 17 people and injured 14, carried haunting parallels for Novell and her family members.

Authorities say Nikolas Cruz, a troubled 19-year-old who had been expelled from the school in Parkland, Fla., gunned down victims as he stalked the building with a semiautomatic rifle.

In September 1949, Howard Unruh was a 28-year-old loner when he fatally shot 13 people, including three children, during a "Walk of Death" through his Cramer Hill neighborhood.

Charles Cohen's parents, Maurice and Rose, were killed in their River Road pharmacy and apartment, along with Maurice's mother, Minnie.

Unruh, a World War II veteran, also wounded three people and shot at 13 others with a Luger pistol.

He was arrested after an exchange of gunfire and a barrage of tear gas at his home, then was held in a mental institution until his death in 2009 at age 88. Cohen also died in 2009.

 

In this Sept. 6, 1949 picture, Howard Unruh, center, is shown with police after his capture in Camden. Unruh went on a killing spree the day before, gunning down 13 people, in an era when such killings were still rare. Unruh died in 2009 at age 88 in a Trenton nursing facility after an extended illness.

The trauma of Unruh's attack persisted for decades, even though Cohen chose not to talk about it, said his daughter, Evesham attorney Lori Greenberg.

"He wanted to live the rest of his life and not let this define him," said Greenberg, who is Carly Novell's aunt.

"But I think not talking about it and letting it be repressed is much worse," she said, noting Carly has met with grief counselors and shared her feelings at a community vigil.

"Carly is doing OK," Greenberg said of the college-bound senior. "She's a remarkable young lady, but this is hard on her.

"Carly did lose a friend," noted Greenberg. "A friend of hers saw two people shot dead."

Novell also tweeted about the incident in response to conservative TV personality Tomi Lahren, who had criticized a push for gun control after Wednesday's slaughter.

Photo provided of Maurice and Rose Cohen, two of the 13 victims of Howard Unruh's deadly rampage through East Camden on Sept.  6, 1949. Maurice was a druggist and owner of the former River Road Pharmacy that was located at 3200 River Road. His mother Minnie Cohen was also killed.

Lahren's tweet asserted, "This isn't about a gun it's about another lunatic."

Not so, said Novell in a sharply worded response.

"I was hiding in a closet for 2 hours," the student said. "It was about guns. You weren't there, you don't know how it felt.

"Guns give these disgusting people the ability to kill other human beings. This IS about guns and this is about all the people who had their life abruptly ended because of guns."

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Greenberg said a solution to mass shootings might require multiple measures that balance competing interests.

"I think people have a right to defend themselves but they have to be responsible," she said.

"I understand people's rights," added the attorney. "But we can't have people walking around with assault weapons.

"Certainly, someone who has mental illness should not have a gun," said Greenberg.

Two of the more than 50 Camden police officers who helped capture Howard Unruh. Detective William Kelley (left) and Officer Charles Hance hold their guns during the exchange of fire between officers and Unruh, who barricaded himself in his River Avenue apartment after the mass killing. Photo taken on Sept. 6, 1949 by Courier-Post staff

But she said gun control alone "is not enough," because a homicidal person could find alternate weapons.

"We're not addressing people who are mentally ill," Greenberg said.

She also expressed optimism for her niece, noting her father had made a successful life after his childhood tragedy.

"My father was wonderful," Greenberg said. "He did not let this define him and hopefully we're going to get Carly through this."

Jim Walsh: @jwalsh_cp; 856-486-2646; jwalsh@gannettnj.com