Alek Skarlatos

Richard Leonard Kuklinski was born in the Polish section of Jersey City, New Jersey. His mother, Anna McNally was a devout catholic and his father, Stanley Kuklinski, worked on the railroads. His father was an alcoholic who beat Richard regularly. Richard was one of four children and had an older brother who died from his parents abuse. Heather Mitchell and Michael Aamodt (2005) say that, “Childhood abuse has been given varying levels of blame in the development of serial killers. De Baker (1997) quoted Ressler’s research and stated that, ‘100 percent [of serial killers] has been abused as children; either which violence, neglect, or humiliation’ (p.55).’” (p. 40). Kuklinski began killing cats as a child. Research says “Violence is a pattern

This shooting was the worst in United States history, and it left families speechless and people in disarray. Two teens committed the treacherous actions of that day. The speculations were that they did this because of bullying, goth culture, or music or video games; these though were all just theories and were never proven(history). After this event, schools, venues, and events have endured grand security increases in the danger of shooters or other violence. Throughout my school days, I have wondered why we do the silly lock down drills at school, but in reality, lives could be saved in the event of an actual attack on my school. I realized this my eight grade year at Guntown Middle School. There was an unidentified man on campus, a code red lock down would amerce. I still remember sitting under my desk, shaking, and almost to tears. I did not want to be remembered as just another statistic if it was a shooter. But it had been our lucky day, the man who had stirred up all the commotion was just looking for the school’s office. Those fears I experienced however, would stay with me. We all believe that we are invincible and that it would never be us. However, with the world as it is today, no one is safe. I have been affected by the Columbine shooting through security changes in schools that I

On a tragic December day many families saw their children for the last time. They would soon find out that their children’s school had been the site of a school shooting. Adam Lanza killed many innocent lives and society could possibly benefit from these harsh actions. What would you do if you never saw your family again? All the families of the victims are still mourning after almost 2 years. Although the Sandy Hook shooting was a tragic day in history, society can benefit from this.

“There have been 220 shootings on school campuses in the U.S. since 20 children and six adults were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary school in Newtown, Conn. on Dec. 14, according to Everytown For Gun Safety, an advocacy group.” (Krishnakumar, Priya , and Len Degroot) Many people do not feel safe attending or sending their child to a public school where they are possibly subject to a shooting. School shootings were first initially brought to the attention of the public in 1999, Columbine was one of the first school massacres that was recognized nationwide. Because of the magnitude of the shooting there is an abundance of information online bearing information of the event. First off, the shooters had identified specific targets, athletes, minorities and Christians. The two shooters had planned the firing for over a year and thought out their whole strategy. (“Columbine High School shootings.”) There was no plan in place to react to this shooting, because nothing like it had ever happened before. Although if there was, we may not hear about Columbine to the degree we do today. Columbine still is the most well known shooting and the horrific impact is still notable today across the United States. In the eighteen years since Columbine in 1999 there have been hundreds of school shootings, ranging from grade schools to college universities. Obviously, school shootings are a big problem in the United States and hopefully in time with the proper precautions taken they will eventually be eliminated forever.

The school shooting in Roseburg, Oregon was severe. On October 1st, 2015 Thursday 10:38 am at Umpqua Community College (UCC), the gunman went to the school and started shooting students. Many students were killed and injured. The gunman, Christopher Harper-Mercer, 26 years old, had an interest in guns, struggling with mental health issues, and had anger against religious people. This shooting was called, “One of the Deadly mass shootings this year”.

The assault in this country timber town was the most exceedingly bad mass shooting in Oregon history. Eight understudies and an educator passed on. Nine others were injured.

On December 14, 2012, in Newtown, Connecticut, twenty-year-old Adam Lanza (just barely out of his teens) shot and killed six adults and twenty children at Sandy Hook Elementary School after murdering his own mother at home. He then turned the gun on himself bringing the morning’s fatalities to twenty-eight. As horrible as this crime was, it is only one in a growing number of similar shootings in other schools across our country. Two of the worst examples occurred in the late 90’s. In Springfield, Oregon, fifteen-year-old Kipland Kinkel killed two students and wounded twenty-two others when he opened fire in a crowded cafeteria in his high school on May 21, 1998. This was after he killed both his parents the night before (Grapes 6). In

Student witnesses described the perpetrators dressed in black trench coats and masks that aimed their attacks at minorities and athletes before opening fire randomly. The article’s inclusion of accounts from the perpetrators’ peers particularly drew in audiences. High school senior Rachel Erbert described witnessing victims being shot:

In this article, “At least 26 dead in shooting at Texas church,” Dakin Andone, Kaylee Hartung, and Darran Simon discuss the tragic shooting that took place in Sutherland Springs, Texas. The shooter was a 26-year-old named Devin Patrick Kelley. He was a member of the US Air Force, but received a bad conduct discharge in 2014 and served a year in prison for assault on his wife and son. After the shooting, Kelley was found dead in his vehicle. It is still unclear whether or not he was shot by a neighbor or inflicted the injury on himself. 26 people died in this shooting and another 20 were injured. The ages of the victims range from 5 to 72 years old. This town is described as a place where “everybody knows everybody,” (Andone

"I'm angry someone would do this to us. There are lives ruined, families ruined, and our whole school year is ruined" (Brackely 1). Casey Brackely, once a student that attended Columbine High School, remembers the tragedy of the horrific Columbine shooting that killed and injured many students. Mass shootings in the United States have been on the rise since the 1980’s, especially in the last decade. These shooters motives and profiles are almost all terrifyingly alike. Many of these shooters try to imitate and parallel the tragic shooting of the Columbine High School in 1999. These shootings have made peaceful organizations, such as an elementary school; become a place of violence and death. Currently, in the United States, an epidemic of

On May 18, 2018 there was a school shooting at Santa Fe High School making it the 22nd one this year. The 3rd within a one week span. With each shooting happening more frequently and being covered by the media more we find ourselves becoming desensitised. Some people start to lose hope with the movement because every time they open their social media there is thoughts and prayers, but no action. Paige Curry, a student at Santa Fe was asked if she was surprised by that something like this could happen at her school? She replied with a “No” then said, “It’s been happening everywhere. I’ve always kind of felt like eventually it was going to happen here, too.” Curry had become so desensitized by gun violence because of its frequency and prominent place on media. Although some teenagers have become less sensitive to school shootings we also find ourselves with others who see the constant coverage of shootings and become enraged. With the help of media and platforms like Twitter tragedies have become more spread showing their frequency in our nation. Upsetting people who have never been affected directly by gun violence. It has allowed for organizations like Students March and The National Walkout to form which are comprised mostly of people who have never experienced violence like

Twenty-six year old, Chris Harper Mercer was the cause of the Umpqua community college shooting. Nine victims were killed and the gunman was the tenth one who died. Those who died were the age range of 18-67. There were students who ended up being injured during the scene. “A motive for the shooting remained unclear” (Barajas, 2015, para.6). Assumptions have been made about how and why the shooting occurred, but we still do not know the real reason behind all of this. Questions will never be solved, but “according to several witness accounts, the shooting took place in Classroom 15 in Snyder Hall” (Barajas, 2015, para.15). Mercer was armed with three pistols and a rifle. This event was planned out. The question is, why do school shootings

Imagine a scene of unimaginable terror: several college students are lined up against a wall and shot, sirens are blaring in the background, and people are seen crouching on floors in classrooms and dormitories in a futile attempt to escape the wrath of a crazed gunman, who also happens to be a fellow student. By mid-afternoon, even the sidewalks are stained with blood and the atmosphere is desolate and aberrantly quiet. Students gather in small groups, some crying while still others make an effort to console each other. Such was the scene on April 16th, 2007 on the campus of Virginia Tech University in Blacksburg, Virginia when Seung-Hui Cho went on a mass killing spree. In slightly under three hours, Cho managed to gun down thirty-three students and faculty members, injuring seventeen others in the process, before finally turning the gun on himself. It has been described as the deadliest shooting rampage in American history.

Friday, December 14, 2012 will forever be a date not necessarily marked on our calendars, but in our hearts. While millions of Americans continued their normal routines, innocent children’s lives, as well as a handful of heroic teachers, were taken away in a matter of seconds, since “each victim was shot three to eleven times,” according to medical examiner, H. Wayne Carver (Circa Part 4). Superintendent Janet Robinson commented, “A lot of children are alive today because of actions the teachers took.” (Circa Part 10) A total of twenty-six individuals were tragically murdered because why? That answer will never be answered since Lanza committed suicide at the scene as police were on their way, which leaves no closure for the victims’ family and friends. The Newtown, Connecticut shooting caused an increased in protection at schools by implementing new gun laws and changing America’s views about the

Too many times people have had to deal with the horrible acts of school shootings. Many musicians have found ways to express their feelings, or paint a picture for an audience. Although it is a very violent act, many artists put the listeners into the shoes of the shooter. Two songs that come to mind is “Dark Side of the Moon” by the rising rapper MGK, and “Pumped Up Kicks” by a little known band that goes by the name of Foster the People. Now, these songs are different in everyday life, but both songs put listeners into the shooters shoes.