The Parkland Shooting: Another American Tragedy
On Wednesday, February 14th, 17 people were shot dead at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. This marks the 18th shooting in the United States in the first two months of 2018.
The shooter was a 19 year old former student named Nikolas Jacob Cruz. He was an orphan with a troubled background who had made alarming threats on the Internet, yet he was still able to obtain his gun legally. When Cruz got inside the building he activated fire alarm to lure people out of the classrooms and began shooting with an AR-15 semiautomatic weapon.
Cruz was later taken into custody by the police and charged with the premeditated murder of 17 people. He has confessed to the crime but the trial is still pending. It is important to note that he may face the death penalty, but his lawyer is trying to reach a deal in order to save his life.
The deceased victims of the shooting include 14 students and 3 faculty members. Among these was football coach Aaron Feis, who died as a hero shielding 2 students. Another 14 people were sent to the hospital for injuries.
In response to this, President Trump tweeted: “My prayers and condolences to the families of the victims of the terrible Florida shooting. No child, teacher or anyone else should ever feel unsafe in an American school.” The President also hosted a listening session several survivors from the shooting and family members in the White House.
Among these was Andrew Pollack, an outspoken father whose daughter Meadow was shot dead in the incident, and who stated: "We're here because my daughter has no voice. She was murdered last week and she was taken from us, shot nine times on the third floor. We, as a country, failed our children…. I'm never gonna see my kid again. Never ever will I see my kid. I want it to sink in. It's eternity," Pollack said. "It should have been one school shooting and we should have fixed it. And I'm pissed. Because it's my daughter I'm not going to see again. She's not here.”
After this the President suggested a potential solution of arming teachers, but this did not go over well with gun restriction advocates in the United States.
The surviving students from Stoneman Douglas High School were not satisfied with thoughts and prayers and called on the government to pass stricter gun control legislation. On February 20th, the students organized a march to Tallahassee to encourage a ban on assault rifles, yet the Florida Congress still refused to pass this law.
The students have now created the Never Again advocacy group and are organizing a nationwide march on Washington DC on March 24th, 2018 to encourage a conversation about gun control reform after giving families a period of mourning.
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