Analysis by Zachary B. Wolf, CNN

Head Coach Houston Rockets Head Coach Houston Texans

Students eat lunch in the cafeteria at Chapa Middle School in Kyle on Aug. 24, 2021. Credit: Jordan Vonderhaar for The Texas Tribune vious Congress, and due to the action by the Supreme Court, the basic thrust of that story from last year holds as the US grapples with the aftermath of Monday’s Nashville, Tennessee, elementary school shooting in which three 9-yearold children and three adults were killed. There’s little more the president can do about mass shootings. There’s nothing the new GOP-controlled Congress is likely to do to prevent mass shootings. And there’s reason to think state gun control laws could be in jeopardy. That means this cycle of gun violence remains sad, predictable and permanent.

There have already been 16 shootings at US schools in the first months of 2023, and 405 kids have been killed by guns in America. The total number of child gun deaths was 1,680 in 2022, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Most states, including Tennessee, still don’t have a red flag (also known as extreme risk) law, according to a database maintained by the activist group Everytown for Gun Safety. Even if Tennessee did have a red flag law, it seems unlikely that it would have stopped the Nashville shooter.

The shooter in Nashville, Audrey Hale, legally bought seven firearms from five different gun stores in the city in recent years. Hale was under a doctor’s care for an emotional disorder, according to Metropolitan Nashville Police Chief John Drake, who added that Hale’s parents thought the one firearm they knew the shooter bought had eventually been sold.

“Had it been reported that she was suicidal or that she was going to kill someone and had been made known to us, then we would have tried to get those weapons. But as it stands, we had absolutely no idea, actually, who this person was,” Drake told reporters.

Everyone headed to events for the NCAA Final Four or other activities over that four-day period will be able to ride METRORail for free!

Coca-Cola Southwest Beverages, a proud partner of the 2023 NCAA Final Four, is providing those complimentary rides on the Red, Green and Purple lines from Friday, March 31 – Monday, April 3.

Know Before You Go

Planning ahead is key to an enjoyable NCAA experience. Street closures and increased pedestrian