Police and school authorities scramble to keep American classrooms safe from shooting threats after the Uvalde massacre.
Highlights:
- 11 more mass shootings reported since 24th May
- 10-year-old detained over shooting threat through text.
- Florida man threatens to shoot up “the nearest school” on social media.
Florida: The U.S is just reeling from a horrific loss of life at Robb Elementary School in Texas when more reports roll in. Florida, for instance, faced 2 school shooter threats in the past few days. The southeastern state is the site of the 2018 Marjorie Stoneman Douglas school shooting that saw 17 people massacred.
Cape Coral, Florida:
A teacher found a loaded handgun under a 5th grader’s desk. Police detained the 10-year old who texted a classmate hours before teachers discovered the weapon. The incident took place at Patriot Elementary School in Cape Coral, near Fort Myers on Florida’s Gulf Coast. The minor was taken to the sheriff’s office where an interrogation occurred. ”This child made a fake threat, and now he’s experiencing real consequences,” said an official in a press release.
Columbia, South Carolina:
A 15-year old faces multiple charges after being caught with a loaded gun on the 31st of May.
The student is from Richland Northeast High School in Columbia, South Carolina. An anonymous civilian tip arrived on social media to local authorities after which an officer confronted the boy.
Police brought him into the station after a swift confession of carrying a loaded gun into school. As of yet, the boy’s motive to bring a firearm to school is unknown.
Police charged him with the following charges:
- Unlawful carry of a deadly weapon.
- Possession of a firearm on school grounds.
- Possession of a pistol under the legal age of 18.
Police, however, redacted his name due to his minor status. Meanwhile, courts booked the teenager into the juvenile wing of Alvin S Glenn Detention Center.
Sandlapper Elementary School
Sandlapper Elementary School sits in the same school district as Richland Northeast High School. This is where teachers discovered a loaded handgun in a 7-year-old’s bag. A classmate of the student notified the teachers of the threat on the 26th of May.
“Before having kids, you kind of become somewhat numb, maybe even complacent. But when you have family and kids that are in these spaces, that are presumed to be safe, your heart hurts, your heartaches and for me, that’s kind of the personal element that comes with it is knowing that my mom would have been there should she not retired, my sister is still in the school, my kids are in the schools.” Said a parent to local TV.
Shootings in the United States:
The Centers for Disease Control released official mortality data that showed 45,222 firearm-related deaths in the U.S in 2020. This makes death by firearm injuries the leading cause of death amongst young people.
With 200,000 American children losing parents to the pandemic, reports consider these past 3 years as ‘highly traumatic’. Pediatric organisations even declare a mental health crisis in the US.
“There is NO profile of a student who will cause harm.” Indeed, any attempt to develop profiles of school shooters is an ill-advised and potentially dangerous strategy. Profiling risks wrongly including many children who would never consider committing a violent act and wrongly excluding some children who might.” says Robin Kowalski, a Professor of psychology
Aftermath of school shootings:
“The severity of survivors’ post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms is related to their proximity to the mass shooting. School shootings also increase absenteeism and grade repetition, reduce test scores, reduce the likelihood of completing high school and college, and reduce employment and earnings at ages 24 to 26. The cost is not just personal — it’s societal.”
Said Read S. Beidas, a professor of medical ethics, health policy and psychiatry at the Perelman School of Medicine.
The increase in anxiety and depression due to
Experts back common-sense gun laws and stringent background check to curb gun violence. A ban on assault weapons is also being pushed to legislators to officiate in light of Uvalde, Texas. Gun control has helped drastically drop school shootings and shooting threats in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
