What a beautiful morning! Just as you plan your day, you feel the desire to read the newspaper because what could go wrong with informing yourself? Your eyes anxiously scan the cover, but your body freezes. A gasp comes out of your throat as you read a story, so similar to many others that have happened and continue to happen in the United States.
“Honey, is everything ok?” your mother asks.
“I don’t want to go to school today,” you immediately reply. Fear just ruined your day. Again.
A terrifying school shooting took place on September 4 at Apalachee highschool, near Winder, Georgia. Two students and two teachers were killed and nine were injured by a fourteen-year-old boy who attended the school.
According to the Washington Post, a strange call took place that morning in Apalachee to warn them that something was very wrong. It was from the mother of the shooter, who said there was an extreme emergency and that they should find her son before anything happened. The staff members were unable to do so and classes continued.
At approximately 9:45 am the shooting started, and with it, the commotion.
However, this does not happen in most countries. The amount of times that shootings take place in the United States can be quite a culture shock for international students.
Vietnamese senior Harley Vuong shared her thoughts regarding school shootings across the nation.
“I had never heard about it [school shootings] before coming to the US because there’s no such thing in Vietnam. But when I got here, I was so surprised that it was actually a real thing, and it happens a lot,” said Vuong. “People have to adapt to it. They create systems and have drills, but it’s never enough to change the fact that someone can just come to school and shoot others.”
Sophomore Laz Golden, from Mexico, has a unique perspective on the topic after the bomb threat to a nearby highschool last week.
“I always associated shootings with America,” Golden said. “I didn’t know how to react. I asked a lot of questions to my friends to understand it better. I thought it was quite interesting how common it is to receive that kind of message in the US.”
American sophomore, Jocelyn Morrow, shared her grievances regarding the tragedy.
“We do lockdown drills once every few months, but regardless, nothing can prepare us for an intruder,” Morrow said. “It is so sad that students who go to school every day to learn could potentially be in danger of another person.”
Even though these students come from different continents and cultural backgrounds, they all agree on one thing.
“Never assume the worst, but be prepared for the worst,” Golden said.
Also, that they would run towards the mountains in the case of a shooting taking place.
”No one would find you there,” Vuong said.
According to a foundation called Sandy Hook Promise, each day 12 children die from gun violence in America and another 32 are shot or injured. In 4 out of 5 school shootings, at least one person knew what was going to happen but failed to report it.
The Apalachee High School tragedy has been the deadliest shooting in the US so far this year. The shooter was arrested that same day since he surrendered moments after the massacre took place. He will be charged as an adult for his crimes.
