Feb. 14, the nation was shocked to learn that a mass shooting had occurred at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. 17 people died as a result of the shooting, and many more were injured. The suspect was caught after an hour of the shooting and is in jail awaiting his trial. The shooting sparked nationwide mourning and the debate for more stricter gun regulation.

Near the end of the school day, Nikolas Cruz was dropped off by an Uber at Stoneman Douglas, and entered a building of the school occupied by approximately 900 students. He activated the fire alarm, and began firing at people as they evacuated the school. The shooting lasted roughly six minutes. After the shooting, Cruz was able to flee the school, go to a Walmart and McDonald’s, and was eventually caught an hour and a half later almost two miles from the school.

Cruz was a former student at the school before he was suspended for behavioral issues. He had previously been banned from carrying a bookbag around the school campus due to threats he made to students at the school. Cruz lived with his mom until Nov. 2017 when she died, and had been living with relatives and friends since. He had online social media accounts which had been described as having disturbing content. The local law enforcement of Broward County reported receiving 23 calls about Cruz due to his behavior and threats. The FBI also received a call about comments made by Cruz on YouTube.

After the shooting, the nation mourned the loss of students and teachers. Many students at Athens Drive were also surprised by another mass shooting.

“I was extremely shocked to learn about the school shooting that occurred in Parkland, Florida. All the video and photo footage was very scary and disturbing. There needs to be a change in this country so kids can feel safe going to school again,” said Emily Brittain, senior.

The shooting resurfaced the nationwide gun debate. People from all over the country rallied their local congressman about changing gun laws to prevent an event of that nature from occurring ever again.

People have different opinions on how to prevent another mass shooting from happening again. Many people criticise schools for being gun free zones, and believe arming teachers would prevent someone from entering the school with harm in mind.

In response to this, President Trump tweeted, “Highly trained, gun adept, teachers/coaches would solve the problem instantly, before police arrive. GREAT DETERRENT!”

Republican politicians took a stand on more mental health issues, while democrats seemed more concerned with access to semi-automatic weapons like the AR-15, the weapon used in Florida and several other mass shootings.

“I think that the best course of action to reduce violence with arms is to implement more in-depth background checks.” said Chris Greene, senior. “These more in-depth checks could include medical history and criminal history to prevent those from buying from buying firearms.”