![Vigil at Tam High School in Mill Valley for the victims of the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida. - [Fabrice Florin / Flickr]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2018/5/29/660x290/b_502x220x82/fabrice-florins-flickr-photograph-of-vigil-at-tam-high-school-in-mill-valley-for-the-victims-of-the-recent-school-shooting-in-parkland-florida_2015409.jpg "Vigil at Tam High School in Mill Valley for the victims of the recent school shooting in Parkland, Florida. - [Fabrice Florin / Flickr]")
It seems as if a new school shooting makes the headlines every week. According to CNN, 21 weeks into this year, there have already been 23 school shootings resulting in injury or death. This means that, on average, there is more than one school shooting a week, a rather alarming statistic. The first happened on January 20 on Wake Forest University’s campus, when a Winston-Salem State University football player, Najee Ali Baker, was shot and killed at a party. The most recent incident happened just last week when a gunman opened fire at Noblesville West Middle School, injuring two people.
This is clearly not a new problem and it does not appear to be going away anytime soon.
Public reaction
While the incidents may differ in location (i.e. parking lot, school building, dorm, rec center) or the number of people injured, they all are tragic and preventable events. The shooting in Parkland, Florida brought on strong student activism in forms of protests and addressing media, efforts which continue to this day. According to the Sun-Sentinel, in response to recent shootings across multiple states, students have been setting up voter registration booths at schools, hoping to elect politicians who support gun reforms.
At one point, some were stating that teachers should be armed in the classroom to protect their students from such incidents.
The gun-related incident at Seaside, California during which a teacher accidentally discharged a gun and injured a student brought into question the safety of having guns in a school environment. Despite much media attention following shootings, student deaths continue, such as the recent May 18 Santa Fe High School shooting in Texas, killing ten people.
Various communities across the nation continue to be impacted by school shootings, with no hope for change in sight.
School shootings portrayed on TV
The hit show "13 Reasons Why" recently released the second season on Netflix, one which may be just as controversial as the first. According to the BBC, Dakota Jablon, a Coalition To Stop Gun Violence policy analyst, calls into question the actions of the main character Clay in dealing with a potential school shooter.
Clay does not call the police or seek the help of an adult. Jablon advises against this behavior, saying that students should never confront an active shooter, instead of getting the help of a qualified adult and calling 911. The storyline could give the students the impression that if they are in a similar situation, they should handle it themselves. Jablon argues the dangers of sensationalizing serious subjects such as school shootings, acknowledging that such portrayals could create copycat behavior.
Are school shootings a game?
According to USA Today, a new game, "Active Shooter," is to be released on June 6 and is quickly getting negative attention. The video game has storylines which allow players the option to stop or commit a school shooting.
Lawmakers and those personally impacted by school shootings are enraged. The game screen includes a count of the number of people killed. According to Fred Guttenberg, the father of a Parkland school shooting victim, “I have seen and heard many horrific things over the past few months since my daughter was the victim of a school shooting… this game may be one of the worst.” Andrew Pollack, also a parent of a Parkland victim, agrees that this video game crosses the line. A Change.org petition for the ban of this game already has nearly 50,000 signatures.
