These words are an apt description of how our state’s legal community—indeed the nation—have reacted to the brutal attack on the home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, killing her 20-year-old son Daniel and severely wounding her husband, defense attorney Mark Anderl.

We cannot help but be reminded of the risks to which judges—and sometimes lawyers—are exposed by the nature of their position and the means available to the disillusioned and irrational. Those risks seem far more profound when they involve a young life.