Devin Patrick Kelley fired on the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Texas resulting in, as Texas Governor Greg Abbott described it, “the worst mass shooting in Texas history” leaving 26 dead on Sunday, November 5 (CNN).

Devin Patrick Kelley had been a member of the First Baptist Church prior to the attack. Although his motives are still relatively unknown, it has been released that Kelley had been involved in a “domestic situation” prior to the shooting. CNN also recently released that the motive behind the shooting “wasn’t related to race or religion”.

Just after the attack, members of the church who remained conscious could only identify the shooter as a young, white male dressed in all black. Thankfully, a bystander confronted Kelley as he exited the church and promptly shot him once they realized what had just happened. Kelley was later found dead with a “self-inflicted gunshot wound” as reported by Wilson County Sheriff Joe Tackitt.

As police became more involved, the public learned more about Kelley, including the fact that he had been in the United States Air Force prior to the attack. It was later confirmed that Kelley was armed with a rifle during the attack. This realization sparked what has become an ongoing debate about veterans, PTSD, and gun control.

Locals were notified promptly as well as Americans from all over the United States, including Triton seniors Erika Siemasko and Allison Mowles who received “a news alert” on their phones.

“I got an alert on my phone and I instantly told my parents,” Siemasko told The Voice. “It’s horrible that this stuff happens continuously and nothing is being done to change it.”

Senior Julia Cordeau said that she was unaware of the shooting until Monday, November 6 in her AP Government class, where her teacher, Mr. Tim Coyle, discussed it with the class. “I didn’t really know much about it until school today,” Cordeau explained. “Shootings are happening more and more often, though. It’s pretty scary.”

When asked about the possibility of a shooting locally in the Triton area, Mowles told The Voice, “I think that it is possible for something like that to happen anywhere”. Despite this, Mowles said that she still “feels safe” coming to school everyday. Incidents like the shooting in Texas have led school officials to re-access their safety protocols such as the classic lock down or stay in place. Students have also become more critical of these protocols after reading stories about shootings happening in other high schools. 

Triton Seniors May Ganzenmuller and Steven Particelli didn’t have much to say on the topic. “I just hate it”, the two seniors simply agreed. Ganzenmuller elaborated as she told The Voice her thoughts. “It is so messed up and it just keeps on happening,” she said. “Something clearly needs to be done, it’s not right.” Although Ganzenmuller said that “something clearly needs to be done,” she admitted that she was not sure what that solution would be. 

One thing is for sure – mass shootings are continuing to happen on a regular basis in the United States. 208 people have been killed in mass shootings in America alone this year, outnumbering any other year still with eight weeks to go, according to USA Today. According to CNN, there has been an average of seven pass shootings per week over the course of the first eleven months of 2017. From 1966-2012, the United States has been a victim of ninety mass shootings. No country comes close to this statistic as the country with the second most shootings is the Philippines coming in at only a fraction of that – eighteen. Unfortunately for students and teachers, schools come in at the place where you are second most at risk of an active shooter incident with 39 shootings occurring in schools over the course of thirteen years (2000-2013), second to businesses.

With mass shootings on the rise and the gun control debate at an all time high, American students are forced to grow up in a world where violence isn’t uncommon, while school administrators are forced to reassess protocols and standards for student safety.