This Valentine's Day Was Deadly And It Didn't Need To Be
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Politics

This Valentine's Day Was Deadly And It Didn't Need To Be

A school shooting took place at Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on a day that is meant for love.

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This Valentine's Day Was Deadly And It Didn't Need To Be
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On Wednesday, February 14th another tragic school shooting occurred sometime around 2:21 p.m. This time, it happened at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. The shooter is 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz.

According to Vox.com, 17 people were killed, and 14 were wounded with five having life-threatening injuries. Instead of spending Valentine's Day by exchanging gifts and spending time with loved ones, students, faculty, and staff at Stoneman Douglas High School spent it in terror.

Cruz really had this planned out. According to NYTimes.com, Cruz carried a backpack and black duffel bag with a semiautomatic AR-15 rifle along with magazines inside of it. He arrived at the school in an Uber at 2:19 p.m. and started shooting around 2:21 p.m. He ended up running off after shooting people and was arrested while walking down a residential street around 3:41 p.m.

Cruz is currently being held in jail without bond. Those who are defending him are classifying him as having a mental illness. In an article from Time.com, his public defenders are stating that he had "brain development issues as well as mental illness."

They also ignorantly believe that Cruz is "...saddened by the loss of these children..." It's amazing how convenient having a mental illness can be. A person who plotted to kill many innocent people is given a pat on their head because they claim to be mentally ill. 17 people were killed at a high school!

A place of learning was turned into a human target range! I wonder if his skin tone was a few shades darker, would he still be able to classify himself as having a mental illness and not be classified as a domestic terrorist? This is a 19-year-old man who wanted to play God and murdered innocent people. The way that he is being treated makes it seem as though all he did was commit a small robbery!

It's interesting how Trump called Sayfullo Saipov, the man who killed eight people by driving into a bike path in lower Manhattan on October 31st, 2017, "...a very sick and deranged person" on Twitter, but in this case, is blaming the victims for not reporting Cruz earlier. Why isn't Trump on Twitter, as he usually is, bad mouthing Cruz! So much about this society, and the people who are in charge is hypocritical and corrupt.

How much more are we as Americans going to take these acts of violence? The NRA needs to be taken down! Guns need to be banned. It's ridiculous how easy it is for anyone to get a gun. In my opinion, just having gun control will not be enough.

Why is America so fixated on having firearms?

To me, someone who desires to just have a gun is obviously compensating for something else. The NRA is controlling everything. Wake up and understand that greedy politicians who are for guns care more about the increase of money in their bank accounts instead of the increase in death rates from gun violence that occurs each year. Fight to end this, and be part of the nationwide 'March for Our Lives' protest on March 24th!

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This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
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