Acknowledging Gun Violence in America

I’m mostly known at the newspaper for my fun and entertaining articles, but unfortunately, there are other topics that I have to write about as well. As the school year gets underway, I thought that it was important for our students and parents to understand how school gun violence shapes this country and its people.

This year, there has been a lot of gun violence, especially in schools. At the time of this article, there have been 27 school shootings this year with 83 people killed or injured. A recent school shooting happened in Uvalde, Texas, where 19 students and two teachers were killed. This tragedy happened at Robb Elementary School on May 24, 2022, at around 11:30. The shooter entered the campus through an unlocked door on the east side of the school and fatally shot and killed 21 victims. The shooter also died.

Another incident that drew national attention happened on the 4th of July at the Highland Park Independence Day Parade. The shooter struck 48 people, of whom seven died, and now faces 117 felony counts. He appeared for a brief hearing, pleading not guilty to the shooting that left dozens injured or killed. He is looking at the prospect of life in prison.

The families at Robb Elementary were deeply saddened, confused, angry, and upset. They don’t feel safe having their children coming to school anymore and want to go to a safer place. Some are actually starting to homeschool their children. They don’t want to take any risks, although the shooter has died on the scene. Highland Park has also dealt with anguish as a community. Gun violence has made the nation reflect on its condition. Most of us don’t have to look far from our own communities to identify incidents of gun violence.

I deeply regret that this is not my usual, fun, energetic article on holidays or sports, but I wanted to discuss something that was on my mind (and probably other people’s, too).