Firearm injuries and deaths in the United States have increased in recent years, adversely affecting many children and adolescents pursuing education.
A tragic shooting that recently took place in Nashville elementary school, Tennessee area on Monday at 10 am, left 6 people dead and many injured.
According to Fox, The deceased were three students who were all 9-year-old and three staff members. Audrey Elizabeth Hale, the 28-year-old shooter, entered the school building by shattering the glass doors, which gave an easy access into the premise.
The authorities were alerted and swiftly arrived on the scene reducing the numbers of fatalities that could have significantly risen. In a clip taken from police officer Michael Collazo’s bodycam, another fellow officer can be heard saying “we’ve got one down”, to which Mr Collazo replies: “Keep pushing!”
The shooter was killed at the scene after having a confrontation with police ending the deadly rampage in less than four minutes after first responders arrived on the scene. The motive behind the attack is unknown and investigations still ongoing.
During a press conference on Tuesday, Chief John Drake said investigators discovered Hale had been treated for mental health challenges prior to the shooting. “She was under care, doctor’s care, for an emotional disorder,” he said.
“Her parents felt that she should not own weapons.” He also added that Hale had left behind a “cartoon” plan of the massacre and detailed maps of the scene as part of a “manifesto”. “We have a manifesto, we have a booklet, that shows the exactly what she had planned to do,” he said.
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“We have maps that show the entry point into the school, the weapons that were going to be used, the clothing that she was gonna wear, and she had drawn it up, almost like a cartoon character. It was exactly what she had on during this incident.”
This dreadful incident has once again brought light to the lack of strict gun control laws in the United States. US president Joe Biden has condemned the outbreak of gun violence against children.
“I never thought when I started my public life that guns would be the number one killer of children in America,” Biden, while visiting a semiconductor factory in North Carolina a day after the incident occurred, described the act as “sick”.
Sen. John Thune of South Dakota echoed House majority leader Steve Scalise, viewing any discussion of new gun safety legislation “premature.”
“Our thoughts are with the families, the victims with the community. We are grateful for the quick rapid response of law enforcement, and I think with respect to any discussion of legislation, it’s premature. There’s an ongoing investigation. And I think we need to let the facts come out,” he said.
The rate of children death due to easy access of guns is a devastating issue that is still going on in many parts of the world and continuing to rapidly increase. The availability of guns to children is a serious concern that has led to many avoidable deaths.
This issue highlights the need for stricter gun control laws and policies to limit access to firearms, particularly for those who are at risk of harming themselves or others.
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