In Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018, seventeen students were shot dead in the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting. In addition to the lives lost, fourteen students were hospitalized in light of their injuries. Since the infamous Sandy Hook massacre in 2012, Stoneman Douglas has been one of the most devastating school shootings in America.
In the midst of the massacre, it is said that the shooter entered the bottom floor of the building, worked his way up to the third floor, dropped his AR-15 assault rifle and backpack, and pretended to be a student. Following the six minutes of disaster, he walked to a Walmart where he purchased a soda at its Subway restaurant. He then proceeded to a McDonald’s and loitered before leaving on foot. Just a few minutes after, he was stopped by a police officer of Coral Springs and taken into custody. The 19 year old perpetrator confessed and was charged with seventeen counts of premeditated murder.
Allegedly, the gunman had posted comments on YouTube revealing his aggression and goal of “becoming a professional school shooter.” It is also said that the shooter purchased the rifle legally from a nearby Coral Springs gun store in February of 2017. The Police stated that the shooter holds “extremist” views and his social media accounts contain an excessive amount of “anti-black and anti-Muslim” slurs. The gunman’s YouTube videos also included comments like, “I wanna die fighting killing [a] shit ton of people,” intentions of mimicking the University of Texas tower shooting, and threats against police officers and Antifa (an anti-fascist organization).
Of those who were victims, twelve died in school, two just outside the school buildings, one on the street, and two at the hospital. The dead include: Alyssa Alhadeff, Scott Biegel, Martin Duque, Nicholas Dworet, Aaron Feis, Jaime Guttenberg, Chris Hixon, Luke Hoyer, Cara Loughran, Gina Montalto, Joaquin Oliver, Alaina Petty, Meadow Pollack, Helena Ramsay, Alex Schachter, Carmen Schentrup, and Peter Wang. Biegel, Feis, and Hixton were among the brave members of faculty who tried their best to protect the fleeing and traumatized students.
Fifteen year old freshman , Peter Wang was among the few that attempted to help others and upon his death, was posthumously admitted to the West Point Military Academy, his dream school.
Many students who were either survivors or witnesses of the shooting have become gun control activists and founded the advocacy group Never Again MSD. Notably, Emma Gonzalez gave a speech on February 17, 2018 in front of a gun control rally in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Gonzalez addressed President Trump, the National Rifle Association, and every politician who was against tightening gun laws.
The chaos conjured by this tragic event spurred many national panics. One being an unsubstantiated gun threat via social media toward Poly High School. Although it was unclear which Poly campus the threat was made against, actions were taken to protect the California students. Long Beach Poly featured a heightened amount of police and security, but the campus was nearly empty anyway. Approximately half of all students were absent.