Gun Violence, Aron Christensen12/5/2022 I feel like I’ve been unwillingly dragged through hell for the past 3 months. A 19 year old male shot and killed my brother and his poor four month old puppy. Why is it ALWAYS a 19-year-old male with a gun by the way? I’m a gun owner myself, and they hardly ever see the light of day. I keep them locked up, away from my children. I keep the ammunition stored separately. My son is 7 years old. My daughter is five. They are far too young to learn about guns and gun violence, in my opinion. Yet, the murder of my brother has them asking questions daily.
The day after we learned my brother, Aron Christensen, had died (apparently at that time of a “massive heart attack”) my mother, father, sister, and wife went to his home to remove his things from the room he was renting from a good friend. It seemed like the only course of action we could really manage that day. We couldn’t take care of him in life, so we aimed to take care of him in death. Sorting through his things and loading them up into a U-Haul were difficult, yet easy. My brother was a simple person. He aimed to not be tied down by things. He was always a free spirit, more so than many, and his room and belongings reflected that. We took great care and organized his musical gear (what he owned most of), packed up his clothes, and organized and flipped through his small but rare vinyl collection. All very cathartic and touching, getting to know him all over again in detail through his things. However, one of the last things we pulled out and itemized in his room was stored tucked away, deep underneath his bed, was a gun case. Inside was my great-grandfather's single shot bolt action hunting rifle, my grandfather's small six-shooter pistol and Aron’s pump-action pellet gun. My 14-year-old nephew James was also there that day and he happened to be the one to crawl under the bed to pull out the case. When we opened it up I explained to James what each one was. He nodded and agreed, as he already knew, because James is already an experienced outdoors-person, and Aron may have shared these items with him before. I told James right then and there that, since Aron had no living will, I believed he and his father should keep charge of these things. Flash forward a day or two and I had my first nightmare in quite some time. I normally sleep like a rock most nights and I sleep in too often. The dream I had was of my 7-year-old son sitting on the couch with me holding my grandfather's six-shooter, explaining how it works. In my dream I then got tired and fell asleep, and was then startled awake by the sound of a gunshot. The nightmares since then haven’t stopped. I dream of my brother, stuck frozen in time, at that spot on the trail near Walupt lake. There are feelings of anger, hurt, despair, and betrayal layered on top of this nightmare. I have had them almost nightly for the past 3 months. I believe the nightmares continue because justice has not been served. Lies are being told. But the truth will come out. I believe the truth can never hide for long. Which is why I was ashamed to carry, for two long months, the burden tasked to me by the Lewis County Sheriff's department. “Don’t go to the media” they told me, “this is a sensitive case” and “these are good kids.” I followed all the rules, but I was lied to over and over again from day one. It WAS suspicious. I COULD go to the media. These AREN’T “good kids.” Here’s what has been presented to be true, both from the Sheriff’s office and from the suspect. Ethan Asbach is a 19-year-old male with a gun who shot my brother and somehow also killed his four month old puppy. Ethan, a 19-year-old male with a gun, was hiking at night with a 16-year-old underage girl, who failed to assist and report a dying man, and continued hiking into the night. They “got lost” and left the next day, failing to contact the campground host, or heading to the nearest location with cell service to let them know a man and his puppy were dead. Only 2 days later did a family member call the authorities to inform them of Aron’s death. My 14-year-old nephew James knows not to shoot blindly into the forest. He knows that it’s illegal to hunt bear with a small caliber, or semi-automatic, gun. James knows not to discharge a firearm across, in, or into any state park area. James knows it is illegal to hunt bear unless one obtains a specific type of large game hunting license to hunt bear in Washington state. As a gun owner and American, I say this... If you think gun violence won't affect you in your lifetime, think again. You will know an acquaintance, friend, relative, or close family member who will succumb to unnecessary gun violence in your lifetime. If you think the answer is more guns, think again. There needs to be systemic change or it will continue for generations to come. We can either all actually listen to each other and change things or give up and move away, letting the people who are okay with things the way they are, all kill each other recklessly. My brother was a good person, pure of heart, without lies, taking only what he needed, giving only what he could. That was the Aron I knew. Aron Christensen was a good man. He deserved another 40 happy years on this earth. Corey Christensen, Aron’s Brother Silverton, OR, USA
3 Comments
Jessica Tallman
7/23/2023 10:34:05 am
I am so sorry. This is really fucked up. I hope you all get justice. Aron you seemed like such a great person and what happened to you is totally fucked and not right.
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Sara
7/27/2023 11:18:23 am
Don't stop making noise about this. Keep going, and eventually justice will happen. I am convinced, there are too many good people in the world to allow this police department and the people in question to get away with this.
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