Whenever there is a major school shooting in America, everyone seems to react to it differently. Political debates erupt online and in Congress, people demand change to take place or people send out their “thoughts and prayers”.
Although major school shootings, and mass shootings in general, never fail to make headlines, there are several shootings that never do. Many times, news outlets tend to overlook school shootings that didn’t have a high death count or schools that didn’t have casualties at all.
Because of this, here are two schools that have been impacted by gun violence that deserve a lot more attention than they are currently receiving, which is little to none.
Noblesville West Middle School
On May 25, a 13 year old male student asked to go to the bathroom during second period and returned to his science class armed with two handguns.
Ella Whistler was shot seven times, while her science teacher, Jason Seaman, was shot three times in the process of tackling the shooter.
Jason Seaman blocked the shooter and is considered a hero to the Noblesville community.
Ella Whistler, 13, was shot seven times during the Noblesville West Middle School shooting.
Almost an hour later, a police officer spoke over the intercom and announced to the school that the suspect was in police custody. Students were texting their parents when they were evacuated onto buses which would take them to Noblesville High School.
They were guided into already crowded classrooms as reports of a threat came into the front office.
A group of Noblesville West students and Noblesville High School students have started a nonprofit organization called Let’s Talk Change. This activist group advocates for gun safety through gun education and has been very active in the months after the shooting took place.
Whistler has just recently gotten her neck brace off and Seaman has been recognized as a hero by the students, staff and people of the community.
Great Mills High School
A 17 year old male student shot and killed his ex-girlfriend, Jaelynn Willey, who was only 16 years old, at school on the morning of March 20. She was pronounced dead two days later in the hospital.
Desmond Barnes was shot in the back of the thigh by the same bullet that killed Jaelynn Willey.
Jaelynn Willey was the only victim of the Great Mills High School shooting in Maryland.
Desmond Barnes was shot in the back of his thigh by the same bullet that hit Jaelynn. He was able to get inside a classroom, tell a teacher he was shot and then called the police.
The shooter shot at one of the officers and the officer fired back. The shooter then turned the gun on himself and committed suicide.
The handgun he used to shoot and kill her with was owned legally by his father.
Since the shooting, students have come together to work to fight gun violence and demand safer gun laws from their representatives and senators. They are also fighting for safe storage laws. A law that would have prevented this shooting from happening, because the teenager would not have had access to his father's gun.
They want to make sure that no other school ever has to go through this again.
