Remember when a school shooting would dominate the news for weeks? We can’t help but recognize the stark contrast to how these shootings are covered by the media now. There have been 11 school shootings just 23 days into 2018. Let that sink in. That’s an average of a shooting every other day. Have you heard about all these shootings? We admit we haven’t.
The shooting this Wednesday at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky left two people dead and 18 others injured. The suspect is said to be a 15-year-old student. When three people were killed in Paducah, Kentucky back in 1997, it dominated the news. Every part of the shooting was dissected.
While the shooting in Benton (and the 10 others in 2018) barely received coverage, there is a movement online not to remember the town’s name or the shooter’s name, but to make sure people remember who the victims are.
The victims of yesterday's shooting at a Kentucky high school have been identified as Bailey Holt and Preston Cope, both 15. A classmate called them "great people": "I have never heard one negative thing come from their mouths." https://t.co/GWO9dBiffE pic.twitter.com/GJlouz2uMz
— The Trace (@teamtrace) January 24, 2018
Bailey Holt was shot and killed at her high school in Kentucky yesterday. Her parents said she had already decided she wanted to one day be a labor and delivery nurse. Her father described her as "a perfect angel." She was 15. pic.twitter.com/0iRVjmUEnE
— Michael Del Moro (@MikeDelMoro) January 25, 2018
Dr. Martin Luther King Junior’s daughter even weighed in, capturing what a lot of this is about. Too many people have become numb to these mass shootings, whether at a school, at a concert or even at a church.
Bailey Nicole Holt, 15
Preston Ryan Cope, 15Shot while attending high school today in Benton, #Kentucky.
Dead. 15.
Please don’t be desensitized.
— Be A King (@BerniceKing) January 24, 2018
Is it time yet to talk about gun control? White House correspondent Peter Alexander posed this question to Press Secretary Sarah Sanders and the exchange became rather contentious.
Watch: NBC News’ Peter Alexander asks White House Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders what the White House is doing to prevent school shootings:
“Will the president come before the nation and tell Americans how he feels about this issue?” pic.twitter.com/557iNjaUy5
— NBC News (@NBCNews) January 25, 2018
This is on your hands, @NRA @GOP and all you gun lusting, cowboy culture, tough guy, fear peddlers. Her name was #BaileyHolt https://t.co/8J7oH76GuU
— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) January 24, 2018
Change comes from the top, but all the country’s leaders seem to be offering are words. And in the President’s case, those words were delayed (22 hours after Prime Minister Trudeau’s).
We grieve with the people of Kentucky who seek comfort & healing during this moment of heartbreak. These acts of evil & senseless violence must end. We commend the courageous and heroic acts of law enforcement who responded quickly and are grateful for their efforts. https://t.co/bHFkpRHYBU
— Vice President Mike Pence Archived (@VP45) January 24, 2018
Our readers often ask what can they do in times like this. We know it can be a helpless feeling to sit back and watch all of this unfold again and again, but as one Maryland Senator says, we all, as citizens, can use our voices.
There have been 11 school shootings this year. It’s only January 25th. If that makes you angry and you agree that inaction is complicity, call Republican Members of Congress and insist they say NO to the NRA and YES to common sense gun safety bills. https://t.co/kwNkvPVEit
— Senator Chris Van Hollen (@ChrisVanHollen) January 25, 2018