About Mildred D. Muhammad
Mildred Muhammad is a complex, thoughtful, and spiritual person. She wanted nothing more than to build a strong family unit in which she would be a good wife and mother. But when her first husband -- John Allen Muhammad -- “turned” on her, Mildred knew she had to protect herself and her family.
When he emptied out their bank accounts, kidnapped their children, and disappeared, she had to learn to navigate the legal system, all the while making sure that he did not find her. She had no money, no job, and she was living in a shelter for abused women when she began her uphill battle to find and claim her children. When she finally got the children back and a judge in Washington State awarded her full custody, she knew that if she were going to stay alive, she needed to be both strong and smart.
Mildred took her children and ran with them to Maryland. She honestly did not think that her ex-husband would be able to find out where she was living; she certainly did not believe he was a physical danger to anyone other than herself. When a sniper began shooting people in the DC metro area, it did not occur to her that the shooter could be John Muhammad. Like everyone else, she was looking for a white van, barely taking notice of the blue Caprice parked in front of her house.
The chilling manner in which he stalked Mildred, while senselessly shooting innocent men, women, and even children places her in a unique position that allows her to address these major issues:
- There isn't an adequate system in place to help someone who understands a partner’s capacity for violence, but who doesn’t know what to do to stop it. Why is that?
- Why isn’t there easily available programs for intervention? Why isn’t there a program that allows authorities to differentiate between levels of danger and take steps for realistic and appropriate action?
- A system that helps protect victims before it is too late might also help those who would do violence and cannot seem to control themselves without major intervention.
Although loopholes are still prevalent, the system is changing and as it changes, hopefully, the survivors will be included in that process. After she came through her trauma, she learned that resources are very scarce or not available to survivors of domestic violence.
"This must change"!, she exclaims.
Domestic violence is also a large problem within the military community. Given the emphasis on post-traumatic stress disorder among military personnel and their spouses, domestic violence within this community needs to be addressed as well.
"Keep in mind that it does not matter what educational or financial status, occupation, race, creed, or religion you are, domestic violence affects us all."
