A Sobering New Documentary Goes Inside the Bedrooms of School-Shooting Victims

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Since 1997, CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman has been covering school shootings across the United States. He began his reporting with the tragic event at Pearl High School in Mississippi, two years before the widely-known shooting at Columbine High School, which was then the largest of its kind.

To remember the lives lost, Hartman started photographing the bedrooms of students who died in school shootings. This work was published by CBS News on November 17, 2024, and is also featured in a short documentary called All the Empty Rooms, which will be available on Netflix starting December 1st.

For nearly seven years, eight families who had lost children in five separate school shootings welcomed Hartman and photographer Lou Bopp into their homes. Over that time, they captured more than 10,000 photographs. The short film depicts Bopp meticulously photographing every corner of the rooms, including under furniture like beds and drawers.

This short film, lasting half an hour, tells the story of Hartman and Bopp as they record the bedrooms of three students who died in a school shooting.

A room of one’s own

The show will feature the bedroom of Dominic Blackwell, a 14-year-old who tragically died in the 2019 shooting at Saugus High School in Santa Clarita, California. The room is decorated with SpongeBob SquarePants, reflecting Dominic’s passion for collecting items related to the character, and now serves as a memorial to him.

A laundry basket full of his clothes has remained untouched for over five years, with the exception of socks and underwear. His mother, Nancy, explains, “We didn’t want to lose his scent in his room – it was so uniquely him.”

Like other parents who have lost children, Chad Scruggs, whose 9-year-old daughter Hallie was killed in the 2023 Covenant school shooting, has been trying to hold onto her memory through scent. He especially misses the smell of her hair, even when she was active, and finds comfort in being near her bed. His wife, Jada, regularly goes into Hallie’s room to smell the blanket she used every night. Hallie’s favorite hoodie, covered in cat pictures, remains untouched.

Jackie Cazares, a 9-year-old victim of the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, is remembered by her family who have kept her bedroom exactly as it was, even leaving the lights on. The only change is a chair where her father, Javier, sits each day. Two of her stuffed animals are special – they play recordings of her voice when squeezed.

Cindy Muehlberger, whose 15-year-old daughter Gracie was killed in the 2019 shooting at Saugus High School, visits Gracie’s room every day to say hello and good night. Gracie loved performing and entertaining in her room, often doing somersaults and inviting family to watch. The documentary features Gracie’s room as it was, complete with the dress she planned to wear to a school dance and a box of notes she wrote to her future self. In those notes, she offered advice like “wear something cute!” for her first day of high school and reminded herself not to worry, anticipating both friends and challenges ahead.

The takeaway

For almost 30 years, CBS News reporter David Hartman has covered school shootings, often focusing on uplifting stories. He’s become known as the person who delivers a hopeful message. As he explains in the film, he’s often asked to come on at the end of a segment to help viewers feel good and regain their faith in humanity.

But those segments became harder to do as more school shootings occurred.

I’ve realized I was trying to downplay the horror of these events, especially school shootings and mass shootings. My job felt like I was supposed to find something positive to say, to remind people life is still good, even after something terrible. But I’m stopping that now. I won’t try to find a ‘bright side’ to tragedies like school shootings anymore.

He noticed people were losing interest in news segments about school shootings. It seemed like the country was becoming numb to them, and he felt he needed to find a new approach. He wondered what he could do to make a difference.

He believes news organizations focus too much on perpetrators of shootings, so he created a project to shift the focus back to the victims. He hopes the images will speak for themselves, without needing a lot of explanation. His goal is simply to have people see the victims’ faces and connect with their stories.

Hartman concludes by saying he wishes every American could spend just a few minutes in one of those homes. He believes such an experience would fundamentally change the country.

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2025-12-01 22:06