Not Living and Not Learning: School Shootings Repeating Themselves
On July 18th, 2022, four years after what lead prosecutor Mike Satz calls “planned, systematic murder… mass murder” at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, the penalty trial for school shooter Nikolas Cruz began. The defendant has already pled guilty to seventeen counts of murder: fourteen students, an athletic director, a teacher, and a coach; the jury must now decide whether the 23-year-old killer should be sentenced to death or to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
This trial is currently being broadcasted live by various news stations, available for viewers to watch at their leisure; although, I may assure you that it is far from a gentle, pleasurable program. Day after day, I have observed the state’s leading prosecutor question witness after witness in hopes of forming a somewhat productive and informed viewpoint on the situation. Keeping my eyes peeled to the screen, I listened as gruesome and disheartening facts were revealed about each victim of Cruz’s unspeakably horrid actions. The more details I learn, the more questions appear in my mind. The most significant, mind-boggling, and repetitive queries are as follows. How could anyone do something like this? Why? And, arguably most importantly, Why aren’t we putting a stop to it?
Max Schachter, father of victim Alex Schachter, a defenseless fourteen year old, said it best in his recent Facebook post: “If you think another Parkland or Uvalde can’t happen in your community you are being very naïve. We never thought it would happen here either. Complacency kills!”
While a discussion of gun control is absolutely necessary for progress with respect to the safety of our schools and society in general, I am not at liberty, nor am I knowledgeable enough, to discern what new laws may prevent or encourage; however, I am able to begin a discussion of how history is undoubtedly, irrefutably repeating itself.
Rachel Scott, Daniel Robrbough, Dave Sanders, Kyle Velsquez, Steven Curnow, Cassie Bernall, Isaiah Sheols, Matthew Kechter, Lauren Townsend, John Tomlin, Kelly Flemming, Daniel Mauser, and Corey DePooter. Remember their names, as they are the ones that remind us of the necessity for action. On April 20, 1999, seventeen-year-old Dylan Klebold and eighteen-year-old Eric Harris opened fire at their own school, Columbine High School, in Littleton, Colorado. After a failed attempt of exploding bombs, the senior students went on a “shooting spree,” visciously murdering twelve students and one teacher, wounding over twenty more. Soon after their nefarious acts, both Klebold and Harris shot themselves. In terms of law enforcement assistance, police struggled with communication via their radio channels, leading to a delay in aid. The Washington Post reported that, “[f]ollowing instructions, police moved methodically through the building, evacuating students instead of racing through the corridors in search of the gunmen. But that meant that hours would pass before SWAT teams reached a critically wounded teacher on the second floor.” Ensuing investigative endeavors into this shooting concluded that the victims were random; however, there is conjecture that motives could be attributed to the shooters’ social statuses, as they were allegedly bullied outcasts, participating in a group called the Trenchcoat Mafia. It was found that the two planned for a year to cruelly bomb the school. This vile event was so impactful that some speculate it to be the origin of further attacks, constructing a phenomenon dubbed the Columbine Effect. Dr. John Nicoletti, a police psychologist explains, “The Columbine Effect is really a psychological footprint of what it does to people. This event occurs, and it becomes mystical to many people, to the point that they want to make a pilgrimage just to see Columbine High School or they want to become part of the Columbine mentality or they want to become a Columbine shooter.”
Christopher James Bishop, Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, Kevin Granata, Liviu Librescu, G.V. Loganathan, Ross Alameddine, Brian Bluhm, Austin Cloyd, Daniel Perez Cueva, Matthew Gwealtney, Caitlin Hammaren, Jeremy Herbstritt, Rachael Hill, Emily Hilscher, Jarrett Lane, Matthew La Porte, Henry Lee, Partahi Lumbantoruan, Lauren McCain, Daniel O’Neil, Juan Ramon Ortiz, Minal Panchal, Erin Peterson, Michael Pohle Jr., Julia Pryde, Mary Read, Reema Samaha, Waleed Shaalan, Leslie Sherman, Maxine Turner, and Nicole White. Remember their names, as they are the ones that remind us of the necessity for action. On April 16, 2007, Seung-Hui Cho, a student of Virginia Tech, traveled from classroom to classroom, killing twenty seven students and five faculty members on campus, wounding over a dozen more. The murderous endeavor began when Cho shot a female freshman and male resident assistant in a dorm and fled the building. History.com editors note how sorely mistaken law enforcement was by stating, “Police were soon on the scene; unaware of the gunman’s identity, they initially pursued the female victim’s boyfriend as a suspect in what they believed to be an isolated domestic-violence incident.” Another shooter turned from homocidal to suicidal, as Cho ended up shooting himself. Subsequent analyses concluded that there were no specific targets in this shooting, but it was discovered that students described Cho as “a loner who rarely spoke to anyone,” finding he often wrote impassioned, diabolical messages in assignments.
Rachel D’Avino, Dawn Hochsprung, Annie Marie Murphy, Lauren Rousseau, Mary Sherlach, Victoria Leigh Soto, Charlotte Bacon, Daniel Barden, Olivia Engel, Josephine Gay, Dylan Hockley, Madeleine Hsu, Catherine Hubbard, Chase Kowlski, Jesse Lewis, Ana Márquez-Greene, James Mattioli, Grace McDonnel, Emilie Parker, Jack Pinto, Noah Pozner, Caroline Previdi, Jessica Rekos, Avielle Richman, Benjamin Wheeler, and Allison Wyatt. Remember their names, as they are the ones that remind us of the necessity for action. On December 14, 2012, 20-year-old Adam Lanza opened fire on Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut shortly after killing his own mother, Nancy Lanza. This savage event, where Lanza shot through glass windows and entered two first grade classrooms, resulted in the death of twenty students and six employees. Like the former killers, Lanza terminated his murderous activity by shooting himself. Later investigations found that Lanza planned and conducted these actions alone, and although his motive remains unknown, he did have “significant mental health issues.” Professionals failed to predict this type of severely harmful behavior.
Alyssa Alhadeff, Scott Beigel, Martin Duque, Nicholas Dworet, Aaron Feis, Jamie Guttenberg, Chris Hixon, Luke Hoyer, Cara Loughran, Gina Montalto, Joaquin Oliver, Alaina Petty, Meadow Pollack, Helena Ramsay, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup, and Peter Wang. Remember their names, as they are the ones that remind us of the necessity for action. On February 14, 2018, 18-year-old Nikolas Cruz entered Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, shooting from class to class on all three floors of the freshmen 1200 building, leading to the death of seventeen people. The defendant attended this high school from August 15, 2015 to February 8, 2017, when he was expelled for “disciplinary reasons,” while also having previous history of antisemitism, racism, and animal abuse. The Columbine Effect quite horrifically came to life, with Cruz’s 2017 search history consisting of “charlottesville shooting,” “poly tech massacre,” “virginia tech massacre, and “columbine highschool massacre.” Despite these warnings, Cruz was able to continue to play the deceptive part of a student when he dressed in a maroon JROTC shirt with the school logo in order to enter the campus. The school’s security staff member faltered, debating on whether to call a code red; because of this, History.com editors noted, “The gunman was halfway through his six-minute rampage before anyone issued a warning. By then, it was too late.”
Makenna Lee Elrod, Layla Salazar, Maranda Mathis, Nevaeh Bravo, Jose Manuel Flores Jr., Xavier Lopez, Tess Marie Mata, Rojelio Torres, Eliahna “Ellie” Amyah Garcia, Eliahna A. Torres, Annabell Guadalupe Rodriguez, Jackie Cazares, Uziyah Garcia, Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, Maite Yuleana Rodriguez, Jailah Nicole Silguero, Irma Garcia, Eva Mireles, Amerie Jo Garza, Alexandria “Lexi” Aniyah Rubio, and Alithia Ramirez. Remember their names, as they are the ones that remind us of the necessity for action. On May 24, 2022, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos shot his grandmother in the face at her home and later arrived at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, resulting in the death of twenty children and six adults. Over an hour after Ramos began his massacre, police finally entered the building. Many argue that law enforcement waited far too long to respond, causing the U.S. Border Patrol to recognize “egregious poor decision making,” as reported by the New York Times.
I ask you to ponder on the well-known saying, “You live and you learn.” Right now, it does not seem like American society is doing much of either. We are most definitely not learning. The parallels between these school shootings are undeniable. First, we see a lack of and/or a hesitation in police action. Next, we notice a general lack of substantial motive, despite many of the perpetrators attending or having some relation to the schools. We also find a pattern of earlier killings, whether it be Cruz’s torture of animals or the other murderers’ prior behaviors. We must begin to recognize how commonplace these massacres are becoming. Instead of taking obvious warning signs (like mental health issues or extreme isolation and detachment) into consideration, these shooters have been allowed to travel from class to class, shooting through windows and into the bodies of innocent students. Lastly, many of these killers choose what some may aruge is the easy way out, committing suicide instead of facing the consequences of their abominable, dreadful actions. This is where I return back to Cruz and the sentencing trial. As the defendant maintains a hunched position, never once lifting his head or glaze, I am left to wonder if immediate death would be a luxury considering the appalling nature of his crime or if the universe should stop wasting its precious air on such an outrageously awful human. Although, truthfully, this is not for me to decide. While the final decision is in the hands of the jury, some of the victims’ family members have provided their opinions on the case.
“I think he should die, and I think that is not enough,” Manny Oliver, father of victim Joaquin Oliver, told Local 10 News.
The New York Times noted the Hoyer family’s internal indecision with the concept of justice. Ms. Hoyer feels that “[j]ustice is complicated,” but she knows that it must exist “beyond the courtroom.” Mr. Hoyer also states, “We couldn’t allow ourselves to think of justice only in terms of this person being held accountable for what he did,” also noting that “more than anything, [he] want[s] fairness.”
I use this final space as a reminder that this is not a television program; just because we may use YouTube and other forms of technology to view a variety of witness testimonies describing inexpressibly atrocious acts does not, in any way, justify the dehumanization of these victims and the pains and struggles their families must face daily, nor should it provide a detached, apathetic, and impartial point of view. There is no disconnection for anyone, and the belief that there is potential for an unbiased point of view with respect to bringing about real change is completely false. Children go to school to learn, and this should not have to imply an education of how to avoid gunfire or how to protect oneself in an extremely helpless situation. It is time to stop being naïve and to look at the facts. We are not learning, and we are not living. History is repeating itself, and it is about time we do something to stop it.
References
Burch, A. D. S. (2022, July 23). After parkland, one question remains: What is Justice? The New York Times. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/23/us/parkland-family-justice.html?name=styln-parkland-trial®ion=TOP_BANNER&block=storyline_menu_recirc&action=click&pgtype=Article&variant=show&is_new=false
FBI. (2019, August 22). Echoes of Columbine | Federal Bureau of Investigation. FBI. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/echoes-of-columbine-2019a.mp4/view
Forney, T. (2022, July 18). ‘not even the death penalty is enough’ says parkland parent on eve of Shooter’s trial. WPLG. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://www.local10.com/news/local/2022/07/17/not-even-the-death-penalty-is-enough-says-parkland-parent-on-eve-of-shooters-trial/
History.com Editors. (2009, November 9). Columbine shooting. History.com. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://www.history.com/topics/1990s/columbine-high-school-shootings
History.com Editors. (2011, April 13). Virginia Tech shooting. History.com. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/massacre-at-virginia-tech-leaves-32-dead
History.com Editors. (2013, December 11). Sandy Hook School shooting. History.com. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/gunman-kills-students-and-adults-at-newtown-connecticut-elementary-school
History.com Editors. (2019, February 6). Teen gunman kills 17, injures 17 at Parkland, Florida high school. History.com. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/parkland-marjory-stoneman-douglas-school-shooting
The New York Times. (2022, May 25). What to know about the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas. The New York Times. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://www.nytimes.com/article/uvalde-texas-school-shooting.html
Safe Schools For Alex. (2022, January 25). About Alex. Safe Schools For Alex. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://www.safeschoolsforalex.org/about-alex/
Safe Schools For Alex. (2022, January 25). School Shooter Warning Signs. Safe Schools For Alex. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://www.safeschoolsforalex.org/resources/
Schachter, M. (2022, July 26). If you think another Parkland or Uvalde can’t happen in your community you are being very naïve. We never thought it would happen here either. Complacency kills! [Post]. Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/max.schachter.1
Vazquez, C., & Torres, A. (2022, July 6). Defense wants to exclude Nikolas Cruz’s swastikas, racial slurs, animal abuse, child porn searches. WPLG. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://www.local10.com/news/local/2022/07/06/defense-wants-to-exclude-nikolas-cruzs-swastikas-racial-slurs-animal-abuse-child-porn-searches/
Vobejda, B., Thompson, C. W., & Ottaway, D. B. (1999, May 12). Response in Littleton Was Swift, but Unsure. The Washington Post. Retrieved July 26, 2022, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/juvmurders/stories/littleton051299.htm
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YouTube. (2022). Witness testifies on Parkland school shooter’s search history| July 27. YouTube. Retrieved July 27, 2022, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pao3mkNtco&t=2733s
