Within the first six weeks of 2018, 16 school shootings have taken place across the United States. These shootings have ranged from suicides, drive-bys, accidents and planned attacks. In total, five people have been killed due to school shootings.

One of the most recent shootings took place on February 6 in Oxon Hill, Maryland at Oxon Hill High School. Around 5:15 pm, three students got into an argument in the parking lot of the high school and shot a 17-year-old male student in the chest twice. He retreated to the high school for help where he was immediately rushed to the hospital. The police have charged a 17-year-old female and 18-year-old male with attempted murder, determining that robbery was their motive. It also appears that the perpetrators did not go to the same school as the victim.

Another recent shooting happened on February 1 at Salvador B. Castro Middle School in Los Angeles. After a 12-year-old student dropped her bookbag, a semiautomatic handgun shot two 15-year-olds, an 11 and 12-year-old and one adult. The 15-year-olds suffered injuries to the head and wrist, while the other three only suffered minor graze wounds. The student believed the gun in her bag was a toy.

“She was like: ‘I didn’t mean to. I had the gun in my backpack and I didn’t know it was loaded and my backpack fell and the gun went off,'” said fellow classmate Jordan Valenzuela.

Luckily, the two students are not suffering from any life-threatening injuries and are expected to make a full recovery.

One of the first shootings this year took place in Seattle, Washington at New Start High School on January 4. According to the police report, the shooting occurred around 1:30 pm and the school went on lockdown after two shots were fired. They remained locked down until 3:25 pm for school dismissal. Thankfully, there were no deaths or injuries that occurred at this incident.

Another shooting took place January 10 at Coronado Elementary School in Sierra Vista, Arizona. This shooting consisted of a 14-year-old student who shot himself with a family member’s firearm in the bathroom at the school. It was first declared an active shooter incident until the boy was later found dead in the bathroom. The school of 460 students is shaken to its core about the loss of an eighth grade peer.

“Our hearts go out to the family as they grieve during this time of great loss. At this time, we have no information to share on the needs of the family, but will update our community if this changes,” said the school district in a statement on Facebook.

In the following two weeks, seven more shootings took place, including one in Benton, Kentucky at Marshall County High School. On January 23, a 15-year-old boy went into school that day, opening fire on his fellow peers. He left 18 students injured and two dead.

“[We have] identified the slain victims as Bailey Holt and Preston Cope, both 15. Bailey died at the high school, and Preston died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville,” said Kentucky State State Police Commissioner Richard W. Sanders.

Police have yet to release a statement on the boy’s motive, but he has been charged with two counts of murder and 12 counts of first degree assault. The boy will appears in court on February 13, where he will be tried as an adult.

It is stories like these and the hundreds of others that force schools to educate their teachers and students about school shooters. Without laws being passed in the government, it is up to administrations and school districts to ensure the safety of students. We here at St. Dominic will continue to pray for those lost or injured in school shootings.

Sources:
https://everytownresearch.org/school-shootings/
http://b-townblog.com/2018/01/04/shot-fired-at-new-start-high-school-in-burien-thursday-no-injuries-reported/
https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2018/01/10/teen-boy-found-dead-cochise-county-elementary-school-bathroom-killed-himself-sheriff-says/1021334001/
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/23/us/kentucky-high-school-shooting/index.html
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/02/02/gun-in-los-angeles-school-shooting-went-off-in-suspects-backpack-accidentally-police-say.html