Aaron grew up in conditions most people only read about. Abuse. Addiction. Hunger. Constant relocation. By the time he was sixteen, he was actively planning an act of mass violence at his school.
He had the means. He had the motivation. What he didn't have, in that moment, was a single person who saw him as a human being worth saving. Until one did.
A friend invited him over. Fed him. Let him stay. Didn't ask him to be okay. That single, sustained act of unconditional presence interrupted a trajectory that nothing else had touched.
Years later, after building a life of stability, family, and recovery, Aaron stepped onto a TEDx stage in Boulder and told the truth about who he had almost become. The talk — "I Was Almost a School Shooter" — has now been viewed more than fifteen million times.
Today, Aaron speaks to schools, law enforcement agencies, behavioral health teams, threat assessment professionals, and communities across the country. His message is simple, and uncomfortable, and hopeful: the people most at risk of violence are the people most starved of connection. And every one of us is in a position to interrupt that.