My University Had A School Shooting And I Wasn’t Surprised
I should preface this by saying, it is indeed a tragedy and I am still in shock and mourning like everyone else on campus. My heart is with those that were lost and injured, and their loved ones. However, this is also something that needs to be talked about. I remember getting the nightmarish notification on my phone around 6 pm on April 30th; the text read:
“Shots reported near Kennedy Hall. Run, hide, fight. Secure yourself.” UNCC Emergency Campus Update
I feel confident in saying that this notification shook every one of us in the UNC Charlotte community. It’s something that you never expect to happen close to you, until it does.
Before I knew it, I was texting every friend that I could to find out where they were and if they were okay. I finally heard back from everyone and thankfully, they were alright. Still, nothing was known about the shooter and if anyone was injured. It wasn’t long before this story was all over the news and I quickly learned that the shooter had unfortunately shot and killed 2 people, along with shooting and injuring 4 others. My heart quickly sank. I believe that mentioning the shooter’s name or releasing their identity is unnecessary, as it gives publicity and emotion to someone that deserves neither. As much emotion that we may have for them, they don’t deserve it from us, instead, I believe holding indifferent emotion towards them and giving nothing is more agonizing for them.
The Victims
It is important to mention those that were lost and injured in this situation. Those who were tragically lost are Riley Howell, 21, and Ellis Parlier, 19. Riley is being recognized as a hero for trying to combat the shooter. The others that were injured are Sean DeHart, 20, Drew Pescaro, 19, Emily Houpt, 23, and Rami Almaradhan, 20. All of the students involved were UNC Charlotte students.
What We Know About the Shooter
With giving as little attention to the suspect as possible, trying to find a motive and any pattern may prove to be of importance in preventing further incidents. All that is known or released so far, is that the shooter was a history major at UNC Charlotte, but that he had dropped out earlier in the semester.
As I was in disbelief that this had taken place on my campus, it began to make sense. I was watching the bird’s eye view of campus from the news chopper cam, and the first thing I noticed was not only how big the campus is, but how open and welcoming it is. When you’re driving by campus, you can easily gain access without any security issues. A person can park almost anywhere (without fear for tow or citation, since that’s not their concern in this scenario) and work their way around the campus.
I’ve attended UNC Charlotte since May 2015 and I don’t recall any kind of metal detectors, and I’ve seen more than my fair share of prospective students sitting in a lecture. I’ve even seen parents with their kids walking around campus, some just sitting in the lobbies of the buildings. So, even though I was horrified at what had transpired, I couldn’t feel surprised. This very scenario has been my worst nightmare in recent years due to all of the shootings that continue to take place in schools and churches… places that you would least expect this and feel safe.
The following semester would be tough and everyone was going to most likely be on-edge, and I don’t blame them. I know that the news and policing authorities commended the responders on getting to the incident quickly or something along the lines of “we’re thankful it wasn’t worse,” but 1 person injured or dead is enough, let alone 2 dead and 4 others shot. We need to be able to stand boldly and say that this is not acceptable, more can be done than damage control. We need to focus on prevention.
In the coming days and weeks, I can only hope that with this tragic and senseless act of violence, the powers that be will take a look at more preventative measures, maybe a larger security presence in buildings or a way to find weapons and any other preventative measures. One effort that I think maybe helpful would be to empty each students’ pockets into a designated area as they walk into a building and going through a scanning system, similar to that of the TSA at airports. No, this doesn’t sound fun and it could be time-consuming, I get it. But, if this means being safe and no more lost… I’m all for it. Not only would it further school safety for students, faculty and other employees, but it would also provide more jobs around the country, as well.
This happened on the very last day of classes on our campus. This day was being celebrated by so many, and now our school falls into this horrible statistic, and this event will forever cast a shadow over the school. The least that we can do to move forward, as a whole, is to take every measure possible so that the victims of this shooting, are not victims in vain.
