Los Angeles ( CNN ) -- In many ways , Josh Stepakoff 's childhood came to an abrupt halt at 10:49 a.m. on August 10 , 1999 . That 's the moment a man named Buford Furrow entered the front door of the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Los Angeles and started shooting . Five people were wounded , including three children . Stepakoff , who was attending summer camp there , had the bad luck to be in the lobby . He took two bullets to his left leg and hip . He was 6 at the time , and is among few people who witnessed the horrific sights and sounds of a mass shooting as a very young child . Like the children of Newtown , Connecticut , he saw blood , he heard screams and he was scared for his life . Shooting triggers 'mind battle ' for Columbine victims . The schoolchildren in Connecticut , in the wake of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School , have a long road ahead of them , says Stepakoff , now 19 . He was traumatized for years . `` If we heard helicopters , sirens , loud noises -- anything that would startle me -- the house was on lockdown , '' he said . `` I locked every door . I locked every window . '' Even when things were quiet , walking around the house could be stressful , as Stepakoff thought a killer like Furrow might be hiding behind every corner . `` It 's not just , ' I 'm scared something might pop out at me , ' it was , ' I 'm scared for my life , ' '' Josh remembered in an interview from his parents ' home in Los Angeles . Sandy Hook victim 's dad praises her short life . Ben Kadish , who was 5 when he was shot just a few feet away from Josh 13 years ago , said he felt scared at school even five years after the shooting , and sleeping at friends ' houses was out of the question . `` I could n't be an average child , '' he said . The intensity of the trauma has dulled with time , the young men say , but the shooting still affects them . For example , both of them chose to go to college in Los Angeles so they would n't be far from home when they had a bad moment . `` If I did run into those times , I did n't want to be a plane flight away , '' Stepakoff said . `` I did n't want to be a six-hour car ride away . I wanted to be five minutes away from my home , my safety zone . '' Stepakoff and Kadish have insights and advice for the parents of Sandy Hook Elementary children , which can also apply to families whose children have suffered other types of trauma . Shooting victims range in age from 6 to 56 . Let them talk -- or not . `` If I said I did n't want to talk about it , we did n't talk about it , '' Stepakoff remembers . `` If I wanted to talk about it , we talked about it . '' Expect your life to be disrupted . When Stepakoff was a young boy and put his house on lockdown , his parents could n't leave , even if they had to get to work . If they were eating lunch at a restaurant and police officers walked in to dine , the family would have to get up and go , because police reminded him of the shootings . `` My parents were great , '' he said . Allow your child to find his way . As a teenager , Stepakoff decided to do work with the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence , and found solace in talking to other victims . James Zidell , the third child injured in the Los Angeles shooting , took refuge in nature . He was also 6 at the time of the shooting . `` In nature you are surrounded by love and beauty , '' he wrote in a high school English paper he shared with CNN . `` Bad people can not get me . '' Repeat comforting thoughts . James Zidell 's mother , Francine Zidell , remembers telling her son over and over that Furrow was in jail and could n't hurt him anymore . `` That seemed to be what he needed to hear , '' she says . Tell your child how strong he is . Kadish says one of the most helpful things his parents did was to tell him how strong he was to survive such a horrendous event . `` My slogan was , 'You 're Ben Kadish and you can do anything , ' '' he remembers with a smile . Support crucial for kids after trauma .
Three children were wounded in a 1999 shooting in Los Angeles . The survivors of the Connecticut school shooting have a long road ahead , one says . Now in their teens , the survivors say they were traumatized for years . `` I could n't be an average child , '' says Ben Kadish .