Teenager murders 19 children in Texas School Shooting

The USA made international headlines on Tuesday, 24^th May. An incident of gun violence has taken place in a Texan elementary school.

An 18-year-old gunman entered Robb Elementary School just before lunch recess on the school’s last day before the summer break. The gunman entered the school at 11:23 am with a handgun and possibly a rifle.

Reports stated that 19 children and two teachers have been killed. This makes the shooting the second deadliest school shooting since Sandy Hook in 2012, overtaking the Parkland shooting in 2017. To put it into perspective, more than a whole class of children were shot on Tuesday,  according to average Texas class sizes.

The ages of the victims are yet to be confirmed. The Elementary school usually provides education to children between the ages of five and eleven. Hence, the victims would likely be very young.

According to NPR, this is America’s 27th school shooting in 2022. This is an average of more than five shootings a month.

The motives for the mass shooting are unknown. The gunman’s identity is yet to be made public. However, the gunman has been shot down by police.

President Biden has ordered that all US flags at home and abroad be flown at half-mast “as a mark of respect for the victims of the senseless acts of violence,”

The demands for policy change have already begun to sweep the nation once again. The Nation Parents Union said that children need “more than thoughts and prayers,” in response to the high rates of school shootings in America.

We spoke to a UoM student from the US to learn about their experiences with school shootings in the US. In an interview they said, “From the age of six,  it was known that school was never 100% safe from attack. ‘Shooter drills’ were just common practice. We learned how to barricade the doors with our chairs and desks, turn off the lights and pull the shades, and shuffle to a corner of the room and sit in silence.”

When asked about the state of gun control in the US, they replied, “It is adamant the US government takes a look at the 27 tragedies that have happened in the 20 weeks since the start of 2022 and decide that the deaths of innocent civilians are not worth the ideology of gun freedom.”

For live updates, click here.