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US-CRIME-SHOOTING-SCHOOL-HISTORY
Two decades of school mass shootings in the US
WASHINGTON, Nov 15, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Two students were shot dead and
another three wounded when a classmate opened fire at their California high
school, the latest in the United States’ relentless cycle of school mass
shootings.
Here are America’s deadliest classroom gun massacres in the last two
decades.
– Columbine High School (1999) –
Two teenagers from Columbine, Colorado, armed with an assortment of weapons
and homemade bombs, went on a rampage at their local high school.
Twelve students and a teacher were killed during the April 20 massacre.
Another 24 people were wounded.
Columbine, whose name has become synonymous with school shootings, is one
of the first — and still among the deadliest — such shootings in the United
States.
– Virginia Tech (2007) –
A South Korean student at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute opened fire on
the Blacksburg, Virginia campus, killing 32 students and professors before
committing suicide.
Thirty-three people were wounded.
The gunman had apparently idolized the Columbine shooters, referring to
them as “martyrs” in a video, part of a hate-filled manifesto he mailed to
police during the shooting.
– Sandy Hook Elementary School (2012) –
A 20-year-old man with a history of mental health issues killed his mother
in Newtown, Connecticut, on December 14 before blasting his way into Sandy
Hook Elementary School.
Twenty children, aged six and seven, were shot dead, as well as six adults.
The shooter then committed suicide.
The parents of Sandy Hook victims have led numerous campaigns to toughen
gun control laws, but their efforts have largely failed.
Some conspiracy theorists insist the massacre was a government hoax,
claiming the shooting involved “actors” in a plot to discredit the gun lobby.
– Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School (2018) –
On February 14, a 19-year-old former student at Marjory Stoneman Douglas
High School who was expelled for disciplinary reasons returned to the
Parkland, Florida school and opened fire.
He killed 14 students and three adult staff.
Stoneman Douglas students have become crusaders against gun violence under
the banner “March for Our Lives,” lobbying for tougher gun control laws and
organizing protests and rallies.
Their campaign has taken off on social media, mobilizing hundreds of
thousands of young Americans.
– Santa Fe High School (2018) –
Ten people, including eight students, were killed when a 17-year-old
student armed with a shotgun and a revolver opened fire on his classmates in
rural Santa Fe, Texas.
Classes had just started on the morning of May 18 when the shooting began.
Following the tragedy Texas Governor Greg Abbott unveiled 40
recommendations, mainly focused on increasing armed security on school
campuses and stepping up mental health screenings to identify troubled
children.
Gun ownership can be a point of pride for many Texans, and even some Santa
Fe High School students spoke out against linking the shooting to the need
for better gun control.
BSS/AFP/GMR/0857 hrs