This past week, the news has been filled with headline after headline from Orlando, Florida, that rocks the nation to its core. Singer Christina Grimmie was fatally shot at a signing after one of her concerts. Then, we were saddened again when news of Omar Mateen's mass shooting at a gay nightclub, Pulse, reported a death toll of 49. Today, our newsfeeds are full of articles about a toddler who was attacked by an alligator at a Disney resort in Orlando.

Two year old Lane Graves of Elkhorn, Nebraska, was at an outdoor movie night with his family by a man-made lake at the Great Floridian resort while vacationing at Disney World. Around 9:00 p.m., he waded into the lake, where he was pulled underwater and attacked by an alligator. Both his mother and father, Matt and Melissa Graves, were present and made efforts to save him. Unfortunately, they were unable to recover him from the alligator's grasp, and he was pulled further in to the Seven Seas Lagoon. The lagoon has several canals connected to larger bodies of water, allowing alligators to access the resort lake. As soon as the Reedy Creek emergency center received a call about the attack, the search for the child began. Lane Graves' body was recovered around 1:45 p.m. on Wednesday, June 15, 2016. Officials say they will be finding and removing the alligator responsible for this attack from the lake.

I've read several articles about this story, each time hoping that the ending will be different, and the Graves family will still have their little boy. Sadly, the ending never changes, but the comments under each article do change. Some people are rightfully saddened by the child's early death, and are heartbroken for the family. Others are blaming the Grave parents for his death, saying they should have been paying more attention to their child. Some are mad that the gators have been removed from the lagoon and killed in hopes of preventing further attacks. Still others are mad at the resort signs, arguing that a "No Swimming" sign isn't adequate warning about possible danger due to alligators in the area.

I would like to remind everyone that we are talking about a two year old who lost his life in a tragic accident. It's much too easy to look for answers to tragedies and get caught up in the blame game. Please stop looking for someone or something to blame. Instead, offer your condolences and thoughts to the family, who just had to witness the death of their child and brother. Show some empathy and think about how you would feel if you suffered this kind of loss. The Graves family has a life in Nebraska. They have friends, family, neighbors and a church community. These people are reading the news, looking for updates on Lane, and they are met with hateful comments about the death of a two year old. I encourage you to think about that the next time you want to comment something about this story. How do you want to be known, and what would you want to see if the death of your loved one ever made national news? My heart goes out to everyone who is missing Lane Graves today. You have my empathy, my thoughts and my best wishes.