To minimize violence, guns should not be brought to parties

ORIANA LUKAS opinions with oriana

In the early morning hours of Saturday, April 15, a fatal shooting took place at a party at Redpoint apartment complex. Residents nearby told The Breeze later that Saturday they didn’t expect a shooting to happen in what they think should be a safe area. Unfortunately, gunshots shattered this vibe as they rang through the house. As students ran in fear, two bodies lay lifeless on the floor.

This should never happen.

While fights can be inevitable, how someone handles them another story. JMU senior Mike Delpercio attended the party and explained his experience.

“We were chilling against the wall close to the front door, then we heard the three gunshots,” Delpercio said. “The music was super loud, so when the shots happened, I wasn’t even sure what had happened and thought it was a balloon popping. Once everyone realized, we ran out the door and ran down the hill to get away from the house. My girlfriend lived back near the house, so when we walked back up, we saw an officer holding the gun, which I assumed was the shooter’s that he had dropped.”

While this chilling event shook up the JMU community, these occurrences aren’t rare anymore. Gun violence in the U.S. has increased significantly. According to ABC News, more than 11,500 people have died from gun violence since the start of 2023. That’s approximately 115 deaths per day. While suicides make up about 57% of gun deaths, that still leaves a large percentage of deaths caused by someone shooting another person. College campuses and the surrounding areas are especially vulnerable, with U.Va., Virginia Tech and Bridgewater having all suffered a shooting in the last year.

Alcohol use is also a predominant factor in gun violence. Alcohol increases brain impairment and blur judgment, according to a 2019 study that shows about 25% of those who died from an unintentional firearm injury had consumed alcohol. There should never be an instance where a gun is brought to a social event. Tensions can be high in a party environment, which can lead to disputes. Fighting should be handled without taking someone’s life.

This thought process was sadly not taken into account at Redpoint, though there’s been no confirmation of alcohol consumption from the perpetrator.

Chaos ensued when the two victims were fatally shot. The two victims were Calour Fields, a 17-year-old male from Harrisonburg High School, and D’angelo Marquise Gracy, a 22-year-old from Rocky Mount, North Carolina — too young for their lives to end. This fatality should never have occurred and has ingrained fear in many witnesses. A JMU student, who requested to remain anonymous due to their involvement at the party, said the whole scenario felt unreal.

“When the shooting happened, I was outside,” the student said. “After hearing the shots, I was really hit with confusion. Nothing really registered that there was someone shooting in the party until I heard the screams and yelling coming from beyond the door. People were begging and banging for the door to open up. It felt surreal for me … like, this can’t really be happening here at JMU?”

Shootings affect everyone involved. They affect the victims, the victims’ families, the survivors and ultimately the shooters themselves. Delpercio said he was just grateful to be safe.

“We are blessed to be alive, and it all sounds very corny until it's actually real,” Delpercio said. “It could have been so much worse, and I’m just grateful we weren’t directly involved."

CONTACT Oriana Lukas at lukasok@dukes. jmu.edu. For more editorials regarding the JMU and Harrisonburg communities, follow the opinion desk on Instagram and Twitter @Breeze_Opinion.