Nearly every Tulsan knows someone whose life has been touched by the work of the staff at Saint Francis.
Mayor G.T. Bynum is no exception. He was there within minutes after a gunman took the lives of four people that June evening in 2022.
Bynum sat down with NewsChannel 8's Daniela Ibarra to reflect on the one-year anniversary.
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“That's a sacred ground for us in Tulsa," he said. "Every time you drive by, you think about it."
Mayor Bynum remembers that evening illuminated by police lights and pierced by the wail of sirens, and amidst the chaos, he says a conversation with one officer sticks with him.
"He said, 'Mayor, it looked like the beaches of Normandy out here. It was a reminder of just how courageous these first responders that we have are in an instant like that," Bynum said.
He also says he felt useless but wanted to be there for those who needed him.
"It's heartbreaking; it's powerful for those who realized their loved ones were still alive but also to know there are families that did not get that reunion," Bynum said.
That night, he wanted to focus on the families instead of focusing on gun control.
Now, though, he says the focus has shifted after the families reached out.
"That discussion has started since then. The concern I had then was people wanted to start having a gun control debate when we still had four victims that had not even been identified yet," he said.
“They want to take this heartbreaking tragedy of losing their daughter and their sister but not have that be just in vain. What they asked me is 'Will you work with us to support gun safety awareness?' And I said 100%," Bynum said.
What the family wants, they say, is simple. "Everybody should support keeping guns locked up so they don't get in the hands of somebody who shouldn't have them."
Greg and Joyce Husen told NewsChannel 8 they're focusing their grief on preventing more lives from being lost to gun violence. They want people to press their lawmakers for change.
In a statement, they say they believe God's heart is broken when "evil walks in with an automatic rifle and takes the lives of innocent victims."
NewsChannel 8's Daniela Ibarra asked Bynum: "Do you think lawmakers have done enough to try and prevent a tragedy like this from happening again here in Tulsa?"
"When I hear our chief of police say that we need better background checks, we need better gun safety in place, and we need people to do a better job securing our firearms, I think all of those I completely agree with, and I hope all the legislators are listening to him, too," Bynum replied.
Not everyone agrees with him.
"It's a clear violation of and it's unconstitutional to delay any version of purchase of a firearm," said President of the Oklahoma Second Amendment Association Don Spencer.
Mayor Bynum wants Tulsans to remember the heroes.
"There wasn't hesitation. They were ready to go in."
He says the bravery is best displayed in the body camera footage from the first officer who rushed in. It still gets him.
"All I can find myself thinking is, 'Oh, please, get there and save them, get there and save them,' but you know he's not gonna make it, and even today, I get choked up thinking about that, knowing how hard they wanted to get there and save those folks, and it was just too late," he said.
In Bynum's eyes, the heroes don't just pin on badges, they wear scrubs, too.
"They were there right after it happened, they still continued to show up every day, to continue to save the lives of Tulsans," he said. "My hope is that on the anniversary, that our community takes the opportunity to remember these folks and think about in our own hearts what we can be doing to honor them."