[JSR] Enough is Enough

According to CNN, there have already been 23 school shootings where someone was hurt or killed. That averages out to more than 1 shooting week. This is causing students to become more and more nervous about attending school these days, which should be the least of their worries. And, a few weeks ago, this fear hit close to home as I experienced, secondhand, a school shooting closer to home.

My friend, who attends Highland High School in Palmdale, California sent a text to a group chat saying that she heard gunshots. I was really surprised because I never thought that something like a school shooting would happen to someone I knew. At first, I questioned the reality of the text, but realized one would not joke about such an issue especially during this time. The school shooting was actually happening.

An article published later stated that a 14-yr-old former student actively terrorized the school first thing in the morning of May 11, 2018. One student was shot and injured but is making a full recovery. The article stated that it took security and the police three whole minutes to come to the school. This seems like a small amount of time, but during the three minutes, people could have been killed. Nonetheless, the situation was well handled and students were eventually led to safety.

The school security guard was on his way to work when the shooting happened, as was all the students as it was in the beginning of the school day. However, stories have spread about small interactions with the shooter. For example, it is said that the shooter took a fellow student into the bathroom and told the student that he would give the student a head start before he began shooting. Whether this particular interaction happened or not, a student should never have to experience an encounter like this and have to run for their lives.

The safety of our schools is at an all time low and all school should be focused on the safety of the students and administration that attend and work at their schools. Safety should be the priority and it shouldn’t be that difficult to make any legislative decisions to promote it. One death effects so many people’s lives and we’ve had so many deaths so far due to school shootings. How many more lives will have to be taken away before people become more aware of the needs of students and schools?