On Sunday, November 14, 2022, another school shooting caught the nation’s attention. Making headlines on nearly every popular news outlet, a shooting at the University of Virginia this past weekend brought the question of gun violence back to the table, especially in light of the most recent election. Three students on the football team were killed, and another 2 were injured. The victims who were fatally shot around 10:30 P.M.; Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr., and D’Sean Perry, were all seen as role models in their community. The suspect was still armed and not yet caught for nearly 12 hours following the incident, forcing the students on campus to shelter in place. The suspect was finally caught and identified as Christopher Darnell Jones Jr., an ex-member of the football team. He is now facing felony charges of first degree murder as well as the use of a handgun.
This is not the only school shooting that’s made national headlines this year, and it likely won’t be the last. There have been over 40 reported school shootings in 2022, which breaks down to nearly 4 shootings per month nationally. This is the highest number historically recorded, and it appears to only be trending upward.
One of the biggest and most gruesome school shootings occurred on May 24, 2022, in Uvalde, Texas. A gunman came into Robb Elementary School and killed 19 students and 2 teachers, and injured 17 more. Like many other school shootings in the last 20 years, it divided the state of Texas and the nation. Despite many advocating for better gun control and safer practices, Governor Greg Abbott of the Republican Party had no problem turning the city of Uvalde red in the most recent election. Many see this as not only insensitive to the victims and their families, but as a step in the wrong direction as there is less of a chance for regulating the purchase and use of firearms.
Uvalde and Charlottesville are not the only places nationally that have seen brutal shootings this year. Though they were the most widely reported on, shootings also happened in Des Moines, Miami, and Philadelphia, just to name a few. There were also extensive threats and deceptions across the nation in which near-school shootings were prefaced by tip offs to police departments, TikTok trends, and 911 calls from other places. Unsurprisingly, people have been on edge in recent years because of these threats and false alarms.
Looking back over the last couple of decades, there have been many unforgettable school shootings that have undoubtedly inspired more recent ones. In 2018, the shooting at Stoneman Douglas High School, better known as the Parkland shooting, left 17 people killed and another 17 injured. Recently sentenced, the gunman Nikolas Cruz has received 34 consecutive life sentences without the possibility of parole.
Another shooting that shocked the nation was the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in 2012, where 20 first graders and 6 teachers were killed in Connecticut by Adam Lanza. The perpetrator also killed his mother and himself, bringing the death count to 28 for this one incident. Regardless of such a brutal incident, there have been people who claim shootings such as these didn’t actually happen. Most famously, Alex Jones, a radio show host, has claimed Sandy Hook was a conspiracy and has gone to court for the claims. He now owes money to the families of the victims, money is not anywhere near enough to even begin solving this problem.
Closer to home is the Columbine High School shooting in Littleton, Colorado in 1999, where 13 people were killed and a minimum of another 20 were injured by the two perpetrators, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. They killed themselves after the spree, which occurred after 2 bombs they had set to detonate within the school failed to do so. Supposedly, the shooters had tried to create an event similar to the Oklahoma City Bombing that occurred just a few years prior. On the 20th anniversary of Columbine, an avid follower of the shooting named Sol Pais threatened several schools in Colorado and appeared to want to recreate the events of Columbine. She was eventually found dead, but her actions increased the fear and panic among Americans everywhere.
As the year continues, school shootings are on the rise, and have continued to increase in violence and severity. Many college campuses are also located in states where there is a conceal carry policy, which allows for guns to be brought into classrooms by students. In light of the number of school shootings this year alone, including Uvalde and UVA, this is a policy that is frowned upon by many.
With social media such as TikTok and Instagram, students on the inside have documented the shelter in place orders and expressed their fears about further shootings.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRQYRmU9/
Ultimately, something has to be done regarding gun safety and the constantly increasing number of shootings both nationally and worldwide. Though money is being given to families of many victims, the punishment is not proportional to the crime in most cases. It’s important to keep spreading awareness and doing what we can in order to ensure the safety of students in school and attempt to decrease the numbers of school shootings nationally in the future.