In case you did not hear, on Wednesday, Feb. 14, one of the deadliest school shootings in the United States, in which 17 people died, occurred in Parkland, Florida at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School. Fourteen victims were students, while three were faculty and their ages ranged from 14 to 49. The gunman, 19, was a former student of the school and was armed with an AR-15 rifle. He opened fire on the high school while students and faculty tried to hide in closets, rooms, and under desks while they called, texted, and tweeted for help.
In America, we have started to become desensitized to shootings like this. When I first heard about it, I was horrified, but simultaneously felt almost numb to it. It’s easy to hear about the numbers, but forget that all those people murdered and severely injured were human beings – they were someone’s child, husband, friend, mom, girlfriend. And it’s even more eerie to realize that the person who did this was also a human being – a terrible and most likely mentally ill human being, but a human being nonetheless.
To the people who say that immediately after a shooting is not the time to discuss gun policies, you are wrong. The only way to truly stop things like this from happening is to change policy. Of course, a person pulled the trigger, but had he been restricted from obtaining the gun, which he purchased this year, he would not have caused nearly as much damage. We have to remember that terrorists or gunmen only have to get their job correct once and they can wreak so much havoc; law enforcement have to get their job done right every single time to protect people.
Before finishing this article, I want to commemorate the heroes of the Parkland Shooting. Aaron Feis, 37, was an assistant football coach who threw himself in front of students to protect them from the shooter. He himself was shot and later passed away. A teacher named Scott Biegel opened his classroom door to let in a group of students. Unfortunately, he was unable to close the door before getting attacked by the gunman. Teacher Ashley Kurth helped 65 students who were running out of the freshman building hide in her office and closet. These are the types of people who should be remembered and who we should try to emulate.
This shooting was a terrible reminder that we need to change gun policy and be heroes to others.
Help; do not harm.