Once again, I found out about another tragic shooting via Facebook news feed. I scroll through my feed several times a day, and lately, feel like I read a story about a shooting with alarming frequency. The most recent attack has taken place in Munich, Germany, at the Olympia shopping mall and nearby McDonald's.

So far, we don't know much about the shooting. The Munich police are looking for at least three gunmen, with no attackers in custody right now. The severity of the situation is unclear with reports of shootings and sights of three armed gunmen, so public transportation has been shut down and officials are urging civilians to stay home or seek shelter in secure buildings. When the shooting began at McDonald's, Lauraetta Januze was in the bathroom with her son, witnessing one attacker load his gun before shooting it in to the face of trapped children. Lynn Stein, an employee of Jack Wolfskin, was in the mall when she heard six or seven shots ring out, followed by chaos as people ran for exits. She remembers seeing someone who seemed to be either dead or injured laying on the floor as a woman cried over them. Another woman, Thamina Stoll, was visiting her grandmother who lives nearby, when helicopters started circling above. Soon after, people were running to the house looking for safety, while others wondered around in a confused haze. Currently, the death toll sits at six people, with several more injuries accounted for.

This shooting took place in Munich around 5:50 p.m. in Munich, making my local time 10:50 a.m. A CNN article covering the attack was published and updated by 3:30 p.m. my time. I say this to make the point that in today's world, news travels fast. I find the news interesting, and am grateful for the opportunity to stay in the know about issues across the entire world, but today I am wondering if maybe news is traveling too fast. I'm wondering if our social media frenzy and convenient web browsers are actually hurting us more than helping us. No one can deny that the stories circulating through the news world recently are scary. We have read about the Orlando massacre at Pulse, the attack on the people of Nice, France during their Bastille Day celebration, the terrorist attack on Paris, and the countless shootings between police and civilians. Could it be possible that by spreading the stories so quickly, we are desensitizing the public while sparking copy cat crimes? My opinion is yes. The media sources available to us are great, but I fear they are also becoming dangerous as more attacks happen with increased frequency.

The media is too profitable a business to wait for full story details to begin their coverage. Reporters are always looking for the next beat that will put them ahead of their competition. Everyone wants to be the most trusted source. Because of this, we are interested in the story when it first develops. We know all about the first shots and the names of the first identified victim. By the time the story comes full circle, the world has lost interest. We don't hear about the police prevailing or the assailant dying because the next headline is already breaking. Copy cats read these stories, and get ideas from the front end. The consequences of the crimes aren't necessarily covered or seen. Because of this circle, we are desensitized to news, and have come to define stories of these horrific attacks as normal. Desensitizing ourselves to the news by over-consumption makes us complacent, and with that we lose fear and simply hope our community isn't next. But, with constant ground breaking coverage, everyone is informed, and anyone can be next. To everyone effected by the Munich shooting, you have my thoughts and best wishes.