Sandy Hook. Marysville. Umpqua. Independence. Freeman. Sante Fe. Marshall County. Parkland. University of South Carolina. Saugus. These are the names of ten out of the 500 locations where school shootings have occurred since the year 2013. These shootings have resulted in the deaths of over 189 people, and the injuries of approximately 379.
Over the past four years deaths caused by firearms have steadily increased, with a total of 39,773 in the year 2017 according to the most recent data. These shootings take place in backyards, shopping malls, office buildings, movie theaters, concert venues, clubs, places of worship, the list goes on and on. However since the year 2013 an increasing number of shootings have taken place in schools.
An example of one of these shootings was Marjory-Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida. Referred to as Parkland, this shooting, carried out by a former student claimed the lives of 17 students and staff. The after effects of this shooting led to a national uproar, with millions of Americans taking to the streets in protest.
“These shootings have resulted in the deaths of over 189 people, and the injuries of approximately 379. “
Parkland students, such as Emma Gonzalez and David Hogg played a major role in spreading messages about gun violence and forming March For Our Lives, a series of marches throughout the United States, with the main one held in Washington D.C., that led to millions of Americans protesting gun laws.
In recent news, Saugus highschool in Santa Clarita, California has been one of the latest sites for a deadly school shooting, marking it the 45th deadly school shooting this year. Two students were killed when a fellow classmate opened fire on students shortly before classes began.
School shootings are generally carried out by students or members of the local community. The idea that the average shooter is a male is generally true, with 76% of the most recent deadly mass shootings having been carried out by white males over a wide range of ages.
Throughout the United States millions of students take part in active shooter training drills that are aimed at preparing students for the worst case scenario. Many of these drills take place during class periods while all students are located within the confines of their classrooms. However, the Parkland shooting took place towards the end of the school day, with the shooter pulling the fire alarm, drawing hundreds of students out of their classrooms. At Saugus High School the shooter opened fire on students before classes took place.
“Throughout the United States millions of students take part in active shooter training drills, that are aimed at preparing students for the worst case scenario.”
Thousands of students have been in school during an active shooter situation, either in the actual shooting location or in a neighboring school. Sophomore Emma Velardi was in 3rd grade when the Sandy Hook shooting took place thirty minutes from her elementary school. For two hours Velardi hid behind her teacher’s desk without being informed of what was happening. It was not until she was allowed to return home that she learned what had taken place. Velardi said, ̈”I was terrified, I mean he had just shot up an elementary school. I was in an elementary school. And thirty minutes isn’t that far of a drive.”
