High School Shootings
High school shootings have been occurring all over the country. All
incidents
leading in one or more deaths. Jonesboro, Fayetteville, Edinboro,
Pearl, Moses
Lake, Grayson, Olivehurst, Behtel, West Paducah,
Springfield, Littleton. It’ll
never happen to me, you say, well, it could.
And after it does everything is
different, and has changed. Just a death can
change you, but death from
terrorism is even more difficult to deal with.
That is why the students are so
concerned. Some people are blaming
themselves, some television, religion, media,
computer games, and others
blame parents in general. Who is to blame and what is
to blame? We may never
know. It is happening in suburban areas. Places we never
would’ve thought it
would happen. It is starting to look like troubled
children are everywhere.
Have you noticed that everytime these outrageous acts
have happened so far
that it was from a male? What makes young men act this way?
What makes a
teen criminal tick? These are the questions that some of the
countries best
psychologists are pondering at the moment. But what have
authorities or
parents done to prevent this. Most of the attackers have been
arrested on
other crimes that seem to be cries for help. But are turned away
with a slap
on the wrist and put back on the street to commit crimes like we
have seen in
our high schools all too much! (Wetzstein, 37). Kids who have
thoughts about
these acts are the ones most affected by these images. They did
it, why can’t
I. That is a common thought among troubled teens today, after
seeing images
of schoolyard shootings. The availability of guns is a big
factor.
Irresponsible parents with guns, or the availability of guns on
the street. Kids
can get a hold of a gun just as easy as Adults can! Kids see
movies that show
people carrying automatic weapons and mowing down all of
their enemies, then
going down to the local bar and having a drink. Acting
like nothing happened
five minutes ago. Do you think that this rubs off on
minds that are in an
unstable state? Kids get a hold of guns after seeing
these movies and get the
impression that killing people is ok, and is
something that is done regularly.
Who knows what pushes them over the
edge, but I think a combination of the
factors is a good start (Wetzstein,
37). There has been eleven high school
shootings in the last seven years.
This hit close to home when a young man went
on a shooting rampage in the
cafeteria of Thurston high school in Springfield,
Oregon. Killing two
students, and wounding 20 others. This same pattern happened
in Pearl, Miss.,
when a 15 year old boy, Kip Kinkel, killed his mother and then
went to school
and shot nine students, two fatally. On May 21, Kinkel who had
been suspended
for bringing a gun to school the day before, came in dressed in a
trench coat
with a .22-calibur and a 9-mm G-lock pistol underneath it and opened
fire in
the high school cafeteria of Thurston High School in Springfield
Oregon,
killing two students and critically injuring eight others. As many as
20 people,
injured either by gunfire or in the chaos afterward, were treated
at area
hospitals. The 15-year-old suspect is in custody. Sheriff's deputies
also found
the bodies of two adults (who are the boy's parents) in the family
home in a
rural area just outside the city. William P. Kinkel, 59, and Faith
M. Kinkel,
57, were teachers. His sister Kristen is a student at the
University of Oregon
(Sullivan, 42). So at same time Kip’s sister is trying
to deal with the death
of her parents, the fact that her brother is the
criminal and getting on with
her life. "She has been meeting with family
members and coping with the deaths
of her parents and the arrest and
condition of her brother Kip Kinkel. She has
asked that I relay her deep,
deep sorrow and sympathy to the victims of the
shooting at Thurston High
School and their families. She feels and shares your
loss. Kristin is, as her
parents were, supportive of her family. Her brother Kip
is a part of that
family and she remains supportive of him. She has had an
opportunity to speak
with Kip and they shared their grief." Everyone in this
nation is concerned
about it, all in his or her own ways. This also goes to show
that the family
of the suspects is dealing with the tragic shootings, that they
may have had
no idea about. These families don’t always have control over what
there son
or brothers are doing or planning to do (Loomis). Katie Zollner, a
resident
of Eugene, Oregon and has been now for four years. She told me that
right
after the Thurston High School everyone was rather numb. All the
students
there were very skeptical on whether they wanted to go back to
school and if
they felt comfortable. Her sister’s friend was a victim in the
shooting and
was hurt very badly and it affected everyone. And to this day
their family can
still feel the pain and they don’t even go to Thurston High
School. (Zollner
interview). Students all over Seaside High School are scared
and frighten that
this pattern is going to be repeated here at SHS. "Kids are
scared of the
threat of shootings anywhere they go. SHS students feel so many
unguarded doors,
and crowded halls. (Maltman, Interview)" I’m scared that the
same thing that
happened in Colorado could happen here all too easy. (Soller,
Interview)" "I
don't know if I could go back to school if this happened... I
couldn’t take
the pain and sorrow of seeing my friends getting shot.
(Neilson, Interview)"
Who feels safe anymore, with all of these
shootings? But what can you do to stop
it? These are just a few of the
disturbing reactions of students at our own
school. But from everyone’s
reactions they think that it could happen just as
easily here as anywhere
else.
Bibliography
Murr, Andrew. "A Son Who Spun Out of Control."
Newsweek 1 June 1998: 32.
Soller, Ginny. Personal interview. 3 May 1999.
Neilson, Amy. Personal interview.
3 May 1999. Maltman, Lacey. Personal
interview. 3 May 1999. Wetzstein, Cheryl.
"Make Aware or Make Scare?"
Insight on the News. 6 July 1998: 37. Zollner,
Katie. Personal interview.
3 May 1999. Sullivan, Randall. "A Boy’s Life."
Rolling Stone 1 October
1998: 46-54. "Interview With Kristin Kinkel."
. 5 June 1998.