HOUSTON – The shooting stunned our community.
“I still remember it like it was yesterday. I woke up and turned the news on and it was literally on every news station,” David Morales said.
Students and teachers at Santa Fe High School were ambushed leaving nine students and one teacher dead and another 13 injured.
“Innocent children, innocent adults and families. They woke up that day and they lost loved ones,” says David Morales.
Morales experienced the aftermath from an up-close-and-personal perspective.
“Crime scene tape was still up. It was kind of eerie, kind of emotional you know, knowing exactly what we were about to walk into,” he recalled. “I can still see it, plain as day every aspect of those rooms, hallways. Everything that we were able to take care of, I can still see it.”
Morales is the owner of Biotechs Crime and Trauma Scene Cleaning.
After law enforcement clears a scene, he and his team get to work cleaning up.
“After a traumatic death, unattended death, what we do is we come in, assess the situation and help the family members, the community members. (We) take care of all the biohazard necessities," Morales said.
Morales works with a small team, including his wife and eight local firefighters. He said they bring a special skill set to the job which helps get it done.
“Whether it's removal of furniture, beds, sheetrock, whatever the case may be. We do demolish if we have to. We remove everything that is biohazard and it's separated per OSHA guidelines, it's separated and it's sent off to be incinerated," Morales said.
He starts his day off like most others, checking social media, and watching the news.
But Morales isn't just staying informed, he is looking to offer his services to those in need.
“There's a handful of cases that we've done where I've called. Whether it's an apartment complex or property, or whatever the case may be, and they need assistance. So many people have told us, I'm so glad you called because I didn't know where to turn," Morales said.
He also worked with the Biotechs team in San Antonio after the Sutherland Springs Church shooting.
“A lot of damage, a lot of wreckage people ran, obviously for their lives,” Morales said.
"You know, it's church. How do you, you never think about ... you never think that anything like that would ever be possible at church," Morales said.
But it's not just about chasing sensational headlines.
Morales said it's simply about offering help to a family who doesn't know where to begin.
And it's personal.
“My family and I, we experienced a tragedy on our own," Morales said. “I have a cousin that committed suicide one day and we didn't know where to turn. It still saddens me. My uncle, his father, actually walked in and saw what had happened. I wish he wouldn't have. It's something he's never gonna unsee. It was at that point that he realized, not only do I not want to do this, but I can't."
Morales said to the surprise of many, the work his company offers is often covered by homeowner's, renters and even automobile insurance.
“One of the things that we take pride in is being able to help and assist these family members get over this hurdle and bring back some sort of normalcy to a chaotic time in their life," Morales said.
For more information on Biotechs, click here.