On September 4, at roughly 9:45 a.m., students of Apalachee High School in Winder, Georgia had their classes interrupted by the sounds of gunfire and screaming, as two faculties and two students would die in the shooting. Only two days later, another gunshot rang out and took the life of a student in Joppatowne High School in Joppa, Maryland.
According to CNN, Colt Gray, son of Colin and Marcee Gray, is a 14 year-old student at Apalachee High. On September 4, he would step out of a classroom and return with a gun and begin an open fire on the classroom next door. At 10:20 a.m., The Barrow County Sheriff Officer with two deputies would confront the shooter, who surrendered immediately.
The aftermath of the shooting left nine injured and four dead. These four included two teachers, Math teacher and football coach Mr. Richard Aspinwall and math teacher Mrs. Christina Irmie, and students Christian Angulo and Mason Schermerhorn.
September 6, two days later as the New York Post reported that Jaylen Rushawn Prince would later take the life of Warren Curtis Grant in the boys’ bathroom of Joppatowne High in Joppa, Maryland. Witnesses say that Prince and Grant had an argument before Prince pulled out a gun and shot Grant. Grant was rushed and treated by the school faculty before being life flighted and later dying in the trauma center.
Prince was later found attempting to break into a house 20 minutes later before police took him and arrested him. Prince is being charged with first and second degree assault and the usage of firearms.
School safety has been a topic that has been brought up time and time again through tragic events such as Columbine and Sandy Hook, carrying through the years as more and more recent shootings happen. But, has anything really changed?
Yes, things have changed since Columbine. Student-led movements to prevent gun violence against schools have been more prominent after every shooting, and activists have been standing up to try and change gun laws regarding these topics.
