As many of you probably know, an unspeakable tragedy occurred this morning at Santa Fe High School here in Texas. 10 people were shot and killed and 10 more wounded when a 17 year old Santa Fe student opened fire in a first period art class.
I think it shocks me the most that this happened so close to home. It’s just 5 minutes, yes 5 minutes from my home! I drive by this high school all the time going to church and running errands. While I have lived in Santa Fe my whole life, I never personally attended this high school since I was homeschooled until I went to college. I have been there a few times for events and to play tennis on the tennis courts so it’s just unthinkable that something like this could happen so near to my home.
We don’t really know for sure yet why the shooter did what he did. Many of his fellow students said they never expected it from him. Of course, no one expects something like this to happen, but if you looked at his Facebook page, you would see something was not right with him.
Of course, now everyone is going to be saying we need stricter gun control and guns should only be allowed for law enforcement. I honestly don’t see how that would help since criminals don’t follow laws anyway. I believe you can’t even bring a concealed weapon on a school campus even if you are licensed to carry. That means it is a free for all if someone like this decides to shoot up the school for some reason. He knows no one will have a concealed handgun to fight back! Personally, I think teachers should be trained and armed so they can keep kids safe but what do I know, I’m no politician.
All we can do now is pray. Pray for the victims’ souls and for their families and loved ones. Pray for the law enforcement officers and everyone on scene who helped other students and who now have to deal with the aftermath. Yes, we should even pray for the shooter’s family as they will probably never see their son again. Now they will have to live knowing the terrible thing their son did for the rest of their lives.
I’m very thankful that my cousins who attend Santa Fe are safe, as well as fellow parishioners from our church who also went to school there. One of my cousins was in a room near the art classroom when the shooting occurred so I’m very thankful he is okay. A few of my aunts also work for Santa Fe ISD driving buses and I’m so glad they are alright and that they were able to help so many students evacuate. Even my Mom drove buses for Santa Fe ISD up until last year. She knows some of the victims through people she worked with and can’t believe what occurred today.
I just can’t imagine what is going through people’s mind right now. I just know that this is crazy and never in a million years would I ever have imagined something like this happening here in our small community. It has been amazing to see Santa Fe come together already, helping each other, donating blood for the victims, and donating food and water to first responders. A vigil was held earlier tonight for those who died and it was amazing to see the hundreds of people who turned out to remember the victims.
We must hope and pray that this never happens again. May the innocent victims of the Santa Fe High School shooting rest in peace.
