Another mass shooting, regardless of what kind or what the shooter's name was, is yet another tragedy. Making today's society terrified to go to school, a park, a movie theater, or Church. It re-sparked gun laws, and metal detectors, and preventative ways, but I think there's a huge part that's being missed. We need to stop the spotlight on the killer. The media needs to stop focusing on the motive, their history, their mental health. In fact the name should only be mentioned once. We need to stop giving them the attention that they want. They see all of the countless, senseless, killings and the fame that the murderer gets.They are fueled by this fame after living a life of invisibility and loneliness. They crave that seven minutes of fame. Or it turns into Columbine, where 16 years later, is still an influence to certain gunmen. In a world where there have been countless campus shootings in television shows, America has become obsessed with motive and the why's. I in fact watched the Grey's Anatomy episode of a shooter in the hospital just one day before this actual shooting. It is an epidemic that needs to be fixed before we think about gun laws.
So no, I won't talk about when, where, or how. I won't talk about him, but I will talk about Lucero Alcaraz, 19, who was studying to be a pediatric nurse.
Her sister said: "I'll miss her making fun of me when I would attempt to say the Starbucks cup sizes, getting pissed when I would tackle her with kisses or photograph the heck out of her."
Who spent just only four days in college. His family said "He always stood up for people ... Our lives are shattered beyond repair."
Lucas Eibel, 18
A quadruplet with two brothers and a sister, who volunteered at the Wildlife Safari animal park. Graduated with high marks and was studying Chemistry. "We have been trying to figure out how to tell everyone how amazing Lucas was, but that would take 18 years," his family said in a statement.
Kim Saltmarsh Dietz, 59,
Her daughter was also a student and a fellow student had this to say about her. "I met with her on her first day at UCC and she was so scared to come," Hanna C. wrote. "I told her she could do it. Since then, she excelled in school. Everytime I saw her on campus she made a point to stop and thank me and tell me how well she was doing.
Jason Johnson, 33,
Whose mother told NBC News that he successfully battled drug abuse and was in his first week of college and that Jason was proud of himself for enrolling in school, and so was his mom. His family felt that Jason had finally found his path.
Lawrence Levine, 67,
An assistant professor of English at the college; "loved the blues and other types of music and was a writer, having penned many novels, though none was published, the paper said."
Sarena Dawn Moore, 44,
Moore was the mother of two adult sons whom she loved dearly. "She was a student at the college, in her third semester studying business, the magazine reported.
"She was thrilled to enroll," Martin told the magazine. "She counted it as a direct answer to prayer. She praised the Lord for opening doors for her to pursue a degree in business."
Treven Taylor Anspach, 20,
"Treven was one of the most positive young men, always looking for the best in life," they said in a statement. "Treven was larger than life and brought out the best in those around him." Anspach, his parents said, "was a perfect son."
Rebecka Carnes, 18,
"She had the kind of smile that made you smile, her family said in a written statement, and she wanted to keep people smiling." She had just started college with hopes of becoming a dental assistant.
The next time you think of what happened, please do not think of the gunman. Think of the beautiful lives that were lost. Think of the hopes and dreams instead of his documents left behind. We will not understand the motives, We will not understand the thoughts behind his head. We will not understand any of it nor should we have to. We should stop focus on him, and hug our loved ones a little closer and pray that this will one day end.
To all those lives lost, for the families who must learn to rebuild themselves, and for those who have ever encountered the horror of a mass shooting.
*The names in blue are links to GoFundMe accounts.
*All information from CNN
