BILLINGS — A 10-year-old Billings girl is getting national attention after her response to the violence at the U.S. Capitol went viral, and it all started with an act of kindness.
A little over a week after the terror at the U.S. Capitol, the images are still shocking, the attack is still hard to comprehend for anyone- especially a child.
“We didn’t intentionally mean for Emma to see that video. We were following the news after the riot at the capitol,” said her mother, Johnna Jablonski.
The video that her daughter saw, which aired on CNN, showed DC police officer Daniel Hodges being crushed as he tried to defend the Capitol from the violent mob.
“I just thought that is wrong. It was really wrong,” said Emma Jablonski, a fourth-grade student at Meadowlark Elementary School in Billings.
“She saw it and she started crying. And the best thing we could do was acknowledge her feelings and how she felt about that video,” said her mother.
So they decided to do something. Emma grabbed her paper, her colored pencils and went to work.
“She just poured her heart out it was just as a 10-year-old would write it,” said Johnna.
Jablonski didn’t know the name of the injured officer until she sent out a Tweet and was surprised when the police department responded, letting Emma know the injured officer was going to be okay and even put them in contact.
“I just wanted to let that officer know that I cared for him. And that I don’t want him being hurt, unlike the people in that video,” said Emma.
Her letter is on the way to the officer along with some souvenirs from Billings. And it wasn’t just police who seemed touched by the young girl’s concern and kindness.
“We’ve received responses from Australia, the UK, all over the world, that were just wanting to know that officer was OK. She just really wanted him to know that a little girl from Montana cared about him,” said Johnna.
Johnna hopes Emma’s letter will inspire other families and children to do little acts of kindness, "it really does make a difference,” she said.
