When Will It Be ENOUGH

School Shootings Across America

By Gracie Campbell

2 March 2022

April 20th, 1999- Columbine High School- 13 killed, 21 injured

March 21st, 2005- Red Lake Senior High School- 7 killed, 5 injured

October 2nd, 2006- The West Nickel Mines School- 8 killed

April 16th, 2007- Virginia Tech- 32 killed, 17 injured

April 2nd, 2012- Oikos University- 7 killed, 3 injured

December 14th, 2012- Sandy Hook Elementary School- 26 killed, 2 injured

May 23rd, 2014- University of California-Santa Barbara- 6 killed, 13 injured October 1st, 2015- Umpqua Community College- 10 killed, 7 injured

November 14th, 2017- The Rancho Tehama Elementary School- 5 killed, 18 injured

February 14th, 2018- Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School- 17 killed, 17 injured

May 18th, 2018- Santa Fe High School- 10 killed, 14 injured

April 30th, 2019- University of North Carolina at Charlotte- 2 killed, 4 injured

Currently, it is March and in the last 2 months there have been 14 incidents of gunfire on school property resulting in no deaths but 7 injured.

The picture on the left is me and my high school best friends on our first day of senior year. I went to a small school (I graduated with 74 people) I truly grew up with these people. We went to school together from 4th grade until we graduated, and some were there longer. I cannot imagine if I did not graduate with these girls because of a school shooting. However, that is the reality of life for far too many American teens currently. Not being able to graduate with the people you love because of a senseless act like a school shooting.

The issue of gun control because of school shootings became incredibly close to my heart in the summer of 2018. This was the first summer that I got to work at Camp Seafarer a place where you learn to love people. In my second session cabin, I had a camper who had just finished her freshman year at Marjory Stoneman Douglas and was out sick on February 14th, 2018. I am so grateful that she happened to be out sick that day and I count my lucky stars that I got the opportunity to spend the summer of 2018 with her because she has a heart of gold. She did not have the opportunity to walk across the stage with all of her best friends at graduation and we need change so people like her do not have to experience that pain and grief at the age of 15.

Photography Courtesy of Mary Louise Campbell

Students spend around 7 hours a day at school but for some, it doesn’t feel like a safe environment. Schools should be a place for students to learn and grow but if they are concerned about a school shooter that is hindering their ability to succeed. I believe that every student deserves the same opportunity that I had to walk across their graduation stage with their best friends and feel proud of everything they accomplished within their high school career.

One of the most well-known school shootings occurred in 2012 at Sandy Hook Elementary School. Since this massacre, several families of the victims are working to educate people on the dangers of gun violence.

Each Day 8 children die from gun violence

93% of school shooters planned the attack in advance

So, if we know that guns are dangerous what is happening to protect young people in this country? After the Marjory Stoneman Douglas shooting states started acting. Red Flag Laws allow for law enforcement, family members, or other concerned individuals to petition a judge to remove guns from an individual who poses a threat to themselves or those around them. My home state of Virginia has enacted the red flag law, North Carolina has a bill proposed, however, South Carolina does not have a law or active bill.

Education Week shows that if you look at the data it seems like school shooting trends have declined. But students just haven’t been at school for anything scary to happen and since the return of in-person learning the numbers have begun to rise again.

So where do we stand? It is 4 years after the Parkland shooting which was the deadliest school shooting that I have a memory of and yet only 19 states have enacted a law that will help remove guns from unsafe homes. Instead, schools are adding metal detectors into the main door which makes schools feel more like prisons.

In a study done by Alfred University, 23% of students said that teachers caring more about their students would stop school shooting rates. They want teachers to not only be their mentors but also their friends and confidant. This all goes back to the idea that kids are at school for 7+ hours a day it needs to feel like a home, not a prison. However, this is not to say teachers are to blame. Teachers building stronger relationships with students will help students feel seen and valued but ultimately it is up to state and federal law makers to put on end to school shootings. We should lose anyone else from these senseless acts.