Deadly shooting in US school

On February 14^th, 2018, a gunman entered high school in Florida and launched an attack that resulted in the deaths of 17 people (adults and children). The gunman has been identified as a former student of the high school.

Twelve people were found dead inside the school, two were killed outside the building, one in the street, and two died later in hospital from their injuries.

Background

The right to bear arms is a constitutional freedom in America. It is guaranteed under the Second Amendment (Amendment II) to the United States Constitution. It was adopted in 1791. Gun organizations in the country are among the most politically powerful groups. America is home to some of the deadliest mass shootings in history. It has six times as many firearm homicides as Canada, and nearly 16 times as many as Germany. It is home to 4.4% of the global population, however, nearly half of all civilian owned guns are in the US.

Here are some of the deadliest mass shootings in recent history in the US:

• Las Vegas shooting: The deadliest ever shooting in modern American history took place on October 2017. A gunman, 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, opened fire on an open-air music festival in Las Vegas. It resulted in the deaths of at least 59 people and caused 527 injuries. The gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino. Law enforcement has continued to probe the motive behind Paddock’s actions.
• Pulse Night Club: Omar Saddiqui Mateen opened fire at a night club in Orlando Florida on June 12th, 2016. It was at the time, the deadliest mass shooting in US’ modern history. It resulted in the deaths of 49 people.
• Virginia Tech: Seung-Hui Cho, a student at Virginia Tech University, opened fire in the university and went on a shooting spree. 32 people died due to this attack. Cho later committed suicide by shooting himself.
• Sandy Hook: In 2012, Adam Lanza, gunned down children in an elementary school. They were aged between 6 and 7. A total of 27 people died of which 20 of them were children.
• Luby's Cafeteria: In 1991, George Hennard killed 23 people in a cafeteria in Texas.

Analysis

A gunman, who has been identified as Nikolas Cruz, entered a high school in Florida, USA and opened fire. The attack has resulted in the deaths of at least 17 people including children and many more are being treated for injuries in the hospital. 19-year-old Cruz was reportedly a former student who was expelled from the school for unspecified disciplinary reasons.

Broward County Public Schools Superintendent Robert Runcie, “This has been a day where we've seen the worst of humanity. Tomorrow is going to bring out the best in humanity as we come together to move forward from this unspeakable tragedy.”

This is one of the 10 deadliest shootings in US history. Twelve people were found dead inside the school, two were killed outside the building, one in the street, and two died later in hospital from their injuries. According to the police, the shooter was carrying an AR-15 rifle and “multiple magazines.”

One of the teachers Melissa Falkowski said, “We could not have been more prepared for this situation … we have trained for this, we have trained the kids for what to do … We did everything that we were supposed to do. I feel today like our government, our country, has failed us and failed our kids and didn’t keep us safe.”

The shooter may have pulled the fire alarm in a bid to lure students and teachers to the hallway so he could shoot more of them. According to estimates, since the beginning of 2018, there have already been eight school shootings in the US that has resulted either in injury or death.

The congressman Bill Nelson, a Democrat of Florida, reacted to the tragedy noting, “Are we coming to expect these mass shootings to be routine? And then after every one we say ‘enough is enough’ and then it continues to happen?”

Assessment

Our assessment is that there have been increased number of mass shootings taking place in the US. Many have begun raising the need for better gun-control laws to ensure guns don’t end up in the hands of unscrupulous characters. However, the US’ National Rifle Association (NRA) is one of the biggest donors to Washington and has a powerful lobby that has successfully prevented any significant gun-control legislation from passing.