Category Archives: Gun control

High school students react, comment on latest mass school shooting

From National Public Radio, NPR:

The students behind the March for Our Lives movement, which started after the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School shooting in Florida, sent a note of support, saying, “This is the most fatal shooting since the one at our school and tragedies like this will continue to happen unless action is taken.”

One of the leaders of the group, Emma Gonzalez, added via Twitter, “Santa Fe High, you didn’t deserve this.”

Video of student reaction, comments: Youth Radio.

Here is a post from March For Our Lives on Twitter:

71 Mass Shootings in the US since Parkland Florida: 70 killed, 277 wounded

By Roger Straw, May 18, 2018

Just 93 days ago, 17 were killed in the deadly mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland Florida.  In the 13 weeks since, there have been 71 mass shootings in the US, killing 70, including the 10 who were murdered today in Santa Fe Texas.  Another 280 suffered gunshot wounds in those 71 mass shootings.  #NEVERAGAIN

Can you catch a bullet like you can catch a cold? Intriguing study looks at gun violence under epidemiology lens zmescience.com/science/gun-violence-contagious

69 dead in 71 mass shootings in 93 days – all incidents where 4 or more are shot or killed. #ENOUGH

These shocking statistics are kept by the Gun Violence Archive (More about the Gun Violence Archive below.)

[Editor: The following table was taken from the Gun Violence Archive early on 5/18, with only preliminary count on the victims in Santa Fe Texas.  LATER: updated the Santa Fe numbers.  – RS]

Mass Shootings since Parkland, Florida on 14 Feb 2018 (Source: gunviolencearchive.org)
Incident Date State City Or County # Killed # Injured
18-May-18 Texas Santa Fe 10 13
16-May-18 Texas Ponder 5 1
14-May-18 Maryland Baltimore 0 4
13-May-18 California Stockton 3 2
13-May-18 Mississippi Byhalia 0 4
13-May-18 California Los Angeles 2 2
12-May-18 Nebraska Omaha 0 6
12-May-18 New Jersey Paulsboro 0 4
11-May-18 Oklahoma Talihina 1 4
11-May-18 Missouri Saint Louis 0 4
9-May-18 Nebraska Omaha 0 4
9-May-18 Missouri Saint Louis 0 4
7-May-18 California San Diego 0 5
6-May-18 Oklahoma Stillwater 0 4
6-May-18 Tennessee Memphis 2 4
5-May-18 Georgia Columbus 0 5
4-May-18 North Carolina Henderson 0 4
4-May-18 Illinois Chicago Heights 0 4
2-May-18 Illinois Chicago 1 4
2-May-18 Minnesota Minneapolis 0 6
2-May-18 New York Brooklyn 1 4
1-May-18 Louisiana New Orleans 0 5
30-Apr-18 Florida Pompano Beach 0 4
30-Apr-18 District of Columbia Washington 0 4
29-Apr-18 Tennessee Wartburg 0 4
29-Apr-18 Washington Seattle (Skyway) 2 2
29-Apr-18 North Carolina Monroe 1 3
29-Apr-18 Florida West Palm Beach 1 3
28-Apr-18 North Carolina Maxton 0 5
25-Apr-18 Arkansas Pine Bluff 0 4
25-Apr-18 Missouri Saint Louis (Spanish Lake) 3 1
24-Apr-18 Michigan Flint 0 4
22-Apr-18 Tennessee Antioch 4 3
22-Apr-18 Louisiana New Orleans 1 5
21-Apr-18 Pennsylvania Philadelphia 2 2
20-Apr-18 California San Francisco 1 5
18-Apr-18 North Carolina Asheville 4 3
15-Apr-18 Louisiana Shreveport 0 6
9-Apr-18 California Vallejo 0 4
8-Apr-18 North Carolina Hickory 1 3
8-Apr-18 Florida Miami 2 2
6-Apr-18 Florida Jacksonville 0 4
6-Apr-18 Virginia Virginia Beach 1 3
4-Apr-18 Louisiana New Orleans 2 2
2-Apr-18 Texas Houston 1 3
1-Apr-18 Alabama Mobile 1 4
1-Apr-18 Michigan Saginaw 0 5
31-Mar-18 New Jersey Asbury Park 0 5
29-Mar-18 Texas Plano 1 3
29-Mar-18 New Jersey Camden 0 4
24-Mar-18 Utah Salt Lake City (West Valley City) 0 4
21-Mar-18 California San Francisco 1 5
17-Mar-18 Kentucky Louisville 0 7
17-Mar-18 Illinois Harvey 0 4
13-Mar-18 Florida Macclenny 0 4
12-Mar-18 California Modesto 0 4
11-Mar-18 Illinois Champaign 1 3
11-Mar-18 Indiana South Bend 0 6
11-Mar-18 Michigan Saginaw 0 5
9-Mar-18 North Carolina Wadesboro 3 1
7-Mar-18 Alabama Hurtsboro 2 2
4-Mar-18 Illinois Rockford 1 4
3-Mar-18 Florida Miami 0 4
3-Mar-18 New York Brooklyn 1 3
27-Feb-18 Connecticut Bridgeport 0 4
26-Feb-18 Michigan Detroit 5 0
23-Feb-18 Florida Palm Beach Gardens (Riviera Beach) 1 3
18-Feb-18 Texas San Antonio 0 5
17-Feb-18 Kansas Kansas City 1 7
17-Feb-18 Tennessee Memphis 0 5
16-Feb-18 Oklahoma Oklahoma City 1 3
Feb 15 to present
70
280


ABOUT GUN VIOLENCE ARCHIVE:

Mission Statement

Gun Violence Archive (GVA) is a not for profit corporation formed in 2013 to provide free online public access to accurate information about gun-related violence in the United States. GVA will collect and check for accuracy, comprehensive information about gun-related violence in the U.S. and then post and disseminate it online.

What GVA considers Gun Violence…and why

Our definition of gun violence is intended to be fully inclusionary of disparate elements of gun related incidents…in that, all types of shootings are included, whether officer involved shooting (OIS), accidental, children shooting themselves, murders, armed robberies, familicide, mass shootings, defensive gun use (DGU), Home Invasions, drivebys and everything else. We derive our definitions from CDC, FBI, NIH, and other organizations who have established standards.

Only by being totally inclusionary in our definitions is our data accurate, allowing the researcher to decide which parts of the complete dataset they need for their work. Our goal is to provide a complete picture of impact. Users then glean what they need from the whole. We intentionally have no GVA POV on the subject… but put in more real terms, GVA is against gun violence, not guns or gun owners and in that we strive to provide an unbiased, complete view of the subject.

Why are GVA Mass Shooting numbers higher than some other sources?

GVA uses a purely statistical threshold to define mass shooting based ONLY on the numeric value of 4 or more shot or killed, not including the shooter. GVA does not parse the definition to remove any subcategory of shooting. To that end we don’t exclude, set apart, caveat, or differentiate victims based upon the circumstances in which they were shot.

GVA believes that equal importance is given to the counting of those injured as well as killed in a mass shooting incident.

In that, the criteria are simple…if four or more people are shot or killed in a single incident, not involving the shooter, that incident is categorized as a mass shooting based purely on that numerical threshold.

How does GVA define School Shootings?

Gun Violence Archive defines a school shooting as an incident that occurs on property of the elementary, secondary or college campus where there is a death or injury from gunfire. That includes school proper, playgrounds, “skirt” of the facility which includes sidewalks, stadiums, parking lots.  The defining characteristic is time…Incidents occur when students, staff, faculty  are present at the facility for school or extracurricular activities.  NOT INCLUDED are incidents at businesses across the street, meetings at parking lots at off hours.

In those incidents where someone is injured/killed we include any gunfire, whether intended to shoot/kill students or not.  Those can be sorted by extra characteristics  such as suicide or accidental.

Suicides

Because of the way Law Enforcement and Coroners report suicides, they cannot be collected in near real time so they DO NOT appear on our Daily Summary Ledger. They ARE added to our End of Year totals in AGGREGATE when they become available.

Breaking: Yet another high school shooting – fatalities

Repost from ABC 13, Houston
[Editor: Update: 10 killed, 13 wounded.  More Google updates.  – RS]

At least 8 killed in Santa Fe, Texas High School shooting

SANTA FE, Texas (KTRK) — Law enforcement sources confirm to ABC13 at least 8 people are dead following a shooting inside Santa Fe High School.

The Harris County Sheriff’s Office says one suspect is in custody and a second one is detained. According to law enforcement agencies, it appears the shooter is a student.

The school district just issued the following statement: “This morning an incident occurred at the high school involving an active shooter. The situation is active, but has been contained. There have been confirmed injuries. Details will be released as we receive updated information. Law enforcement will continue to secure the building and initiate all emergency management protocols to release and move students to another location. All other campuses are operating under their regular schedules.

At this time, students from the high school are being transported by SFISD transportation to the Alamo Gym located at 13306 Highway 6. Parents may reunite with their students at this location.
The district will continue to keep you updated as information is available. Safety and communication are our top priorities.”

Witnesses say the shooting took place in an art class on campus between 7:30 and 7:45 a.m.

Santa Fe Police, Galveston County Sheriff’s Office, ATF and FBI agents have all responded to the school at 16000 Highway 6.

Students were earlier lined up outside the school, and their backpacks were taken up by law enforcement.

Life Flight was also called to the scene.

Sophomore Leila Butler tells ABC13 that at about 7:45 a.m. fire alarms went off and students left their classrooms. She said some students heard shots before sheltering off campus.

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Other nearby school districts are putting protective measures in place as well.


Santa Fe is roughly 36 miles outside of Houston. According to the Texas Education Agency, the high school enrollment is about 1,400 students.

NRA Convention Bans Guns To Protect Mike Pence. Parkland Survivors’ Jaws Drop

Repost from U.S. News

NRA Convention Bans Guns To Protect Mike Pence. Parkland Survivors’ Jaws Drop

Parkland teens are calling out the gun group for hypocrisy.

By Mary Papenfuss, 04/28/2018 09:23 pm ET

Guns will be barred during Vice President Mike Pence’s appearance at an upcoming National Rifle Association convention to protect his safety — prompting survivors of the Parkland school shooting in Florida to wonder why the gun group won’t agree to gun restrictions elsewhere to protect children.

Those attending the NRA Leadership Conference in Dallas are on notice that no firearms or “weapons of any kind,” or ammunition, will be allowed in the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center “prior to and during” Pence’s appearance on May 4. The NRA posted the restrictions ― a requirement of the Secret Service ― on a website announcing the conference.

“There will be no storage for firearms,” the NRA says in the announcement. Knife Rights, a knife advocacy group, will provide “complimentary storage” for knives, the NRA adds.

Online NRA announcement for upcoming convention in Dallas.
NRA SCREENSHOT – Online NRA announcement for upcoming convention in Dallas.

Teens who survived the Feb. 14 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, where 17 people were killed, are wondering why the NRA fiercely resists extending the same safety considerations to other areas to safeguard children. The NRA wants “guns everywhere” when it comes to kids, tweeted Matt Deitsch, a Parkland student who helped organize the March for Our Lives rally for stricter gun laws in Washington.

The NRA urges more guns in schools and suggests teachers be armed. President Donald Trump, who agrees with the gun group, boasted that an armed teacher could have “shot the hell out of” the Parkland gunman. An armed deputy assigned to the school failed to respond to the shooter and stayed outside the building.

Cameron Kasky, another Parkland student who has become a gun control activist, lashed the NRA as a ridiculous “parody of itself.”

Fred Guttenberg, father of 14-year-old Parkland victim Jaime Guttenberg, also mocked the NRA convention gun ban: “I thought giving everyone a gun was to enhance safety,” he wrote on Twitter.