School Shooting Narrative

I hit the ground hard. A few minutes later, dust and debris form a pile on top of me. Gradually, the rubble is pulled away and I can see the sky. The two massive towers I saw only a short while ago are completely gone, and there is no sign of Polo. A police officer comes and picks me up. I live out the rest of the 2000s at a nearby station, listening to the TV and watching people rush to some emergency. In 2007, another school shooting happens in Virginia. The 1990s and 2000s were perhaps the most terrifying years I’ve been

As I frantically got my lunch, books, and backpack together for school, I heard the news in the living room ringing in my ears. Another shooting down in American history, this one at Sandy Hook Elementary School. The news reporter began to talk about Adam Lanza, the shooter, who was deeply troubled in his teenage years. As the reporter elaborated, he revealed details that Lanza had access to guns. I felt my chest begin to tighten as I thought about dangerous people having the ability to purchase guns with no struggle. With each word spilling out of the reporter’s mouth I suddenly felt like oxygen was escaping my body and a sense of fear came over me. Out of nowhere, like a train hitting a car, I heard my mom yell, “It’s time to go, it’s 7:35.” I say, “Okay I’m coming!” even though

On December 14, 2012, an armed staff member at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. stopped a gunman in his tracks and saved the lives of hundreds of students and teachers. Imagine if this had been the headline on the news, or on the front page of every newspaper. Would it have garnered as much attention as the tragic situation that actually unfolded when an armed gunman stormed the elementary school and committed the deadliest mass school shooting in America’s history? Would gun control activists have come out in droves to protest and feign a need for new gun laws? Would the distraught families of the slain students and teachers be paraded in front of the media and invited

Research in school shootings have been administered in many categories, including sociology, psychology, and etc. past studies, and direct later studies in school shootings, offers a sociology stand point for understanding the differences of school shooting incidents, including rampage shootings, mass murders shootings, and examining the mass media dynamic of school shootings; as well as presenting a combination of causes said in the research, including those on the individual, community, and social levels. Suggestions for studies in the future in school shootings are still yet to be explored.

In “Tragedy and the Meaning of School Shootings”, Bryan Warnick, Benjamin Johnson, and Samuel Rocha (2010) seek to uncover the symbolic meaning of these heinous crimes as well as argue the need for tragic sense in education. They first direct the reader’s attention to the ritualistic side of school shootings. They often follow the same pattern of a narcissistic social outcast contemplating suicide, then finding a violence coach who convinces them to use rage as an outlet. Their sacrifice of human lives allows them to become higher than God or any other being. The authors also suggest the the heightened security at schools may also play a role in the increase of school violence. They consider whether or not changes to these policies would cause

School shootings have become well known around the world due to the coverage by the media. . These shootings are a serious concern and have parents constantly concerned about their child’s safety when they are at school and also have students thinking twice about any unusual or suspicious behavior. The media appears to play a large part in school shootings and it is important to analyze the deviant behaviors of the shooters in these horrific instances and the fear they create in schools. Does the media play a large part in school shootings or does the media play a large part in the sensationalism of school shootings and the fear they create both in schools and with parents?

Some of the most infamous acts of terror on American soil took place on numerous campuses across the nation. School shootings, like Sandy Hook and Columbine, have started to become an ordinary event seen on the news, which causes a numb reaction in the hearts of countless Americans. According to an article written by AJ Willingham and Saeed Ahmed, from CNN, “...30 deadliest shootings in the United States dating back to 1949, 18 have occurred in the last 10 years.” In all of these cases, the news will give the attacker the attention they so dearly crave and always giving the same justification “they were mentally ill”. This one phrase reflects on all of those who also are affected by mental illness, does this make them corrupt like these terrorists?

There have been over 1,500 ‘mass shootings’ within the United States since the Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, CT (Schapiro, 2017). Media headlines on mass shootings tend to utilise higher numbers when it comes to how many are committed each year, mainly when it is about those committed in the United States. The lack of an official government standard on what should be considered a mass shooting has led to much confusion as to just how many there actually are. This paper will look at how the media uses this confusion to their advantage and how they frame their reporting around a mass shooting, primarily focusing on the most recent major mass shootings of Sutherland Springs, TX and Las Vegas, NV. Also, looking at some of the less

Have you ever wondered why someone would pick up a gun and point it at a classmate, a family member, or yet, a child's innocent face. These questions haunted me after I got a message from a friend saying there might be a school shooting tomorrow . I have always known my school to be a safe place, and such news frightened me. A few hours later I got a message from the same friend. This time, she said “the news was a rumor". Even though I was comforted by knowing it was a rumor, I wanted to have a wider understanding of such incidents. After reading a few article I saw a trend, Every Time a school shooting or any mass shooting happens in general, guns become the main topic throughout the nation, and the country gets divided into pro-guns and anti-guns. This event of polarization would continue until the next shooting where people get and more polarized rather than focusing on the issue. But we have to recognize this, what we need to solve is not just what method the shooter used, but the events leading to that decision.

However, that wasn’t the only time, a life event about gun-free zones sparked my awarnence. More recently a gun shooting in my hometown community took place. I came home from a normal day of school. I went to the kitchen to get a snack, and

Hundreds of thousands of people die from gun wounds in America. According to BBC News in 2015 there were 372 mass shootings America, killing 475 people and wounding 1,870. Bringing awareness of guns allows citizens to know how much harm is done by them. Guns have caused the same amount of deaths as cars. Years ago, it was a difference because cars were 8-14% higher death rates. This year the death rate difference is 4% at the maximum. Although there are things in the world I can’t change, I know I can change the damage of the violence by bringing awareness of guns.

August 9, 2014. “There is growing outrage after an unarmed African American teenager was shot and killed by police in the St. Louis suburb of Ferguson, Missouri, but there are conflicting reports about what led up to the shooting, NBCs John Yang has the details.” Isabelle and Kaiden stared in awe at their TV, silence and rage passing in between the space among them. The chanting and shouting outraged protesters looking for answers on the screen were now drowning the silence out. Click! the screen faded to black. “Why the hell would you do that Kaiden, turn it back on,” Isabelle roared as she lunged at her twin brother unsuccessfully attempting to retrieve the remote control. Kaiden sprang to his feet and glared at his sister, “We’re not going to sit here and just watch another story about an unarmed teen getting killed by the police.” The two knew exactly what one another was thinking, another silent moment passing between them, a conversation being had through the absence of words…

I started my first day shooting at the age of eight. I continued working with the club until I was 14. I have made it to nationals twice in my life, but only medaled once. That was this last summer, July 3rd, 2016. I qualified for nationals by competing in matches every Saturday from the month of April to May. I went to nationals that following July. When I first stepped into the hotel, I could smell the fragrant food from the restaurant. All I heard was people talking, checking in with the desk, having conversations, and all the people that were new were in awe. I remembered the hotel like I have been there 100 times. After we checked in it was the last day we got to truly enjoy the city of Rogers Arkansas until the match was over. Now it

In the past decades there has been an increase of violence in the schools. This increase causes fear among students, teachers, parents, and all Americans. The deadliest act of school violence was the massacre at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, when a student opened fire and killed Thirty-two students and teachers while wounding seventeen. On April 16, 2007, Seung Hui Cho, opened fire on two students killing both of them. He then fled the building. Police responded to the first incident and determined it was an isolated homicide and that the gunman fled the state. Two hours later, Cho returned with two handguns and entered Norris hall which was filled with classrooms. He chained

There is nothing good that I can say about today. I have felt sick and nauseated all day. The events that occurred in this city today are unspeakable. I am usually in complete control of my emotions, but to my embarrassment, I lost control of them and I cannot seem to regain control. At first, I felt shocked, when the media released the name of the shooter, I felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. I thought there was no way it could be the same person, there was no way it could be my former co-worker and friend’s brother. Turns out it was. I am heartbroken for the marines who were murdered and their families who have been so heinously, irrevocably altered, but I am also heartbroken for my friend and her family. I feel guilty for the last sentiment, in light of everything, but I can help but be heartbroken for them as well. I have decided to use the self-care activity of meditation to try to process my feelings and regain some emotional control. Right now, I am in a very bad mental and emotional state; I hope that his activity will help.