Most Americans are still haunted by the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting from December 2012. Tragedies like the Virginia Tech shootings are still in most people’s memories as well. These events were brought to the forefront of people’s minds today, as another tragic school shooting took place early Monday morning in Sparks, Nevada.
At around 7AM on Monday, October 21st, a 12-year-old middle school student opened fire at Sparks Middle School. Using a handgun, he fatally shot a math teacher, Mike Landsberry. He also shot two other 12-year-old boys, who were treated at the hospital and are now listed in stable condition. When police arrived on the scene to try and talk the shooter down, the boy shot and killed himself.
Parents of the victims from the Sandy Hook incident have been reaching out to the Sparks community, offering condolences and also talking about how this tragedy reinforces the need for better security at schools in America. Googling the words “school shootings in America” yields shocking and depressing results. Unfortunately, school shootings seem to be common in our country. There have been discussions about gun control and increases in school security for some time now, but so far there has not been any major reforms.
The only positive thing that can be said for this morning’s awful events in Sparks, Nevada is that the response by police was immediate and organized. This most likely kept the shooting from becoming more widespread than it was. The community of Sparks is undoubtedly grateful that the first responders made sure there was not more bloodshed.