M
THE MUR R AY STATE
NEWS
January 25, 2018 | Vol. 92, No. 15
LOCAL HIGH SCHOOL ROCKED BY SHOOTING Ashley Traylor News Editor atraylor@murraystate.edu Terror struck again but this time it hit closer to home. Two students are dead, 18 others injured and a 15-year-old student remains in custody charged for the shooting rampage on Tuesday, Jan. 23 at Marshall County High School in Benton, Kentucky. Rick Sanders, Kentucky State Police commissioner, identified the deceased victims as 15-year-old Bailey Nicole Holt and 15-year-old Preston Ryan Cope. Holt was pronounced dead on-scene. Cope was taken to Vanderbilt Medical Center where he later passed away. Twenty students were injured, 15 of those were gunshot-related while five students were injured trying to escape the building. As of Wednesday afternoon, there were five students in critical condition at Vanderbilt. In the crowded Commons Area before school, a 15-year-old male student opened fire at 7:57 a.m.
LAW AND ORDER Sanders said at 7:59 a.m. police received 911 calls and by 8:06 a.m. first responders were on the scene. The alleged suspect was apprehended at the school in a “non-violent manner,” and faces two counts of murder and twelve counts of first-degree assault. Authorities originally said the teen would be charged with 12 counts of attempted murder. However, at a press conference on Wednesday, Jan. 24, Marshall County Assistant County Attorney, Jason Darnall announced that after reviewing the evidence, the first-degree assault charges were more fitting.
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Darnall said it was important to point out that first-degree assault and attempted murder carry the same penalty if convicted. The suspected gunman was taken to a juvenile detention center.
GOVERNMENT’S RESPONSE Gov. Matt Bevin flew into Benton, Kentucky on Tuesday afternoon to be briefed on the shooting and to address the media. Bevin asked for everyone to be respectful and considerate of the families and the community, as they grieve and try to heal from the incident. “It is heartbreaking,” Bevin said as he got choked up at the podium. “I beg of you again. Respect the fact that these children belong to this community and to specific families in this community and this is a wound that is going to take a long time to heal and for some in this community this will never fully heal.” Other notable reactions came from the prime minister of Canada , Kentucky basketball coach, John Calipari, Sens. Mitch McConnell, Rand Paul, and Gabby Giffords, Rep. James Comer and singer, Sheryl Crow. It wasn’t until Wednesday, Jan. 24 that President Donald Trump made his first remarks regarding the shooting, coming under scrutiny. Trump took to Twitter to express his sympathies.
ALL TOO FAMILIAR This was not western Kentucky’s first school shooting. Just over a month ago, the community gathered to remember the victims of the Heath High School shooting that happened 20 years ago. Three students were killed on Dec. 1, 1997 when then 14-year-old Michael Carneal
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opened fire on a prayer vigil moments before the start of the school day. Five other students were also shot that day including Missy Jenkins-Smith. For her, the Marshall County High School shooting was all too familiar. “Anytime there is a school shooting, I am emotionally affected,” Jenkins-Smith wrote on her Facebook page. “But what happened at Marshall County High School yesterday was overpowering. I’ve spoken in that district. I know people there. And the details were so eerily similar to the Heath shooting…the number of kids shot, the number of kids killed, the ages of the victims, the age of the shooter, even the time the shooting occurred.” Jenkins-Smith said her “mantra” for two decades has been ‘I choose to be happy,” she wrote. “But it didn’t feel like a choice yesterday. It still doesn’t today. I know that day will come again very soon, but I’m not going to force it, just like those at Marshall shouldn’t force anything. Let your feelings happen naturally. Grieve. And know that all of us from Heath are grieving with you.” A counseling center was set up at the “old Pepsi bottling plant” in Benton. Counselors are available through at least Friday between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. The Murray State University Counseling is available for students at 270-809-6851. Faculty and staff requiring assistance are encouraged to contact the University’s Employee Assistance Program at 800-441-1327.
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7:57 a.m. Shooter enters through upper gym doors
9:45 a.m.
8:06 a.m.
Students taken to North Marshall Middle
First responders arrive
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911 is called
School goes into lockdown
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“ I wanted to go back for Preston, but I thought he was already um... out.” Bryan Edwards/The News
James’ friend was shot in the beginning of the chaos erupting at Marshall County High School. James was sitting next to him. He would later find a bullet hole in his phone case, which had been in his hand at the time of the shooting.
Front row seat Several brave students shared their recount of Tuesday’s tragic events. The following story is from the eyes of a young man who was in the school at the time of the shooting. His name has been changed out of respect for his wishes of anonymity.
Connor Jaschen || Editor-in-Chief cjaschen@murraystate.edu
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J
ames was dropped off by his mom early in the morning, getting ready for school in the commons area with the rest of his class. He had just sat down on one of the benches laid out for students. The Commons Area was full of classmates, many of whom were James’ friends. He sat beside another student – a friend of his – showing him a YouTube video on his phone. “Originally, I heard about two shots go off,” James said. “I thought it was a book, like someone slammed a book down. But then I heard two shots go off, then there was a three or four second break […] And then there was like three seconds, and he just emptied the clip out into the crowd.” James’ friend, who was sitting next to him, was shot in the chest. When the students realized what was happening, it was a sprint for the closest door, James looking after his friend the whole way. “He was hit right in the chest and I was just right behind him the whole time,” James said. “And as [the shooter] was shooting, we ran out together, and I was kinda grabbing [my friend], pushing him and pulling him outside.” James said he knew immediately he was a target: he saw across the Commons Area and quickly realized he was the furthest from the door. The mad dash for safety began. “I knew we were some of the last students to run out,” James said. “And I just knew we were the only targets left in the building.” In their run for the door, James looked back into the room. Then he saw Preston, another friend of his, get shot. “I saw him hit in the head and went
down,” James said. “[I was thinking], ‘Just get out,’ really. I wanted to go back for Preston, but I thought he was already, um… out. I saw him hit in the head and went down.” James and Preston were close, he said, putting him on a list of ‘Top Ten Buddies’. Preston and he had class all year together, even working on a few side projects together outside of school. Most recently, Preston helped James install the subwoofers in James’ truck and helped on construction projects when no one else was willing. “I’ve got carpentry class with him,” James said. “We had to put a new roof on the house. No one really wanted to do it, but me and Preston – [while working at the job], he got hit in the jaw and got surgery. I mean, it’s an awful job, we’re cutting straight up and everything’s falling down. No one wanted to do it. But me and Preston were up there. And you weren’t seeing him complaining at all. He was a good guy; he was there to lend a hand.” Preston would later die in a medevac on his way to Vanderbilt Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. James and his friend were lucky enough to make it out of the building, though not out of harm's way. Outside, students had continued their desperate bid for safety, sprinting down the roads. No one knew who or where the shooter was. James and his friend took shelter in the guard shack in front of the school. He said he couldn’t find teachers or officials to direct traffic, so he did what any student would do and he hid. “You couldn’t hear anything but screaming, sirens,” he said. “I mean, people were crying. […] There was no command. It was kind of just every man for themselves.” James’ friend, who was still suffering from a bullet wound to the chest, followed him into the guard shack. He stayed only briefly, enough time to show his injury to the three other students who hid with them in the guard shack. The in-
jured student then left. James wasn’t sure where his friend had gone, but later learned he survived. A school security officer radioed someone, though James wasn’t sure who. The security officer escorted the group of hiding students to the Technical Center, where the rest of the students were being gathered. From there, James was shipped off to North Marshall Middle School, where students were being dismissed to their parents upon showing ID. First, James called his Mom. “My mom didn’t know about the shooting,” he said. “I had only been there for less than a minute and she hadn’t even pulled out past the bus garage.” When James contacted his dad to update him on the situation, he noticed a bullet hole in his phone case. Presumably, one of the bullets fired at his friend had missed and instead hit his phone. James, who would only later find out the identity of the shooter, remembered having the suspect in class. “I remember last year, he told me ‘Happy Birthday’,” James said. “We have the same birthday. We had class all last year and he sat right beside me.” James’ latest memory of the suspect was even more recent, and arguably more personal. “Before the week out for snow, I played like an hour long game of UNO between him and two other guys,” he said. “And he was fine, joked around, ya know?” James had no answer as to why the suspect in question would have allegedly committed such a violent act against his classmates, but believes his high school will come back courageously. “I’m sure we’ll all come together when we come back to school,” James said. “We’ll have an assembly, spend some time together. Have some time for the people we lost […] I think we’ll come back pretty strong when we come back. Marshall County is a strong school.” James was picked up by his dad from North Marshall around 1 p.m.
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Bryan Edwards/The News
Emily Williams Features Editor
ewilliams15@murraystate.edu
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Ashley Traylor News Editor
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LOOKING FOR AN ESCAPE
A look into the chaos in the fight for survival
“Everyone thought the first shot was someone that popped a balloon,” Sandlin said. “But they kept coming and after the second I think everyone knew that there was a shooter.”
“No one expected him to be the guy,” Sandlin said. “He was a really nice kid. Smart, funny and seemed to be liked. When I was around him, there wasn’t really any indication that he was capable of something like that.” “The group I was following literally broke down a fence and we were walking over it,” he said. “Obviously everyone was scattered because their instinct was to get as far away as they could as quick as they could.”
It was 7:57 a.m. on a regular Tuesday morning when Knox Sandlin heard a sound that would forever echo in the hearts, minds and halls of Marshall County High School. A sound that would shake and challenge a community to its very core. The sound of gunshots in his high school. “Everyone thought the first shot was someone that popped a balloon,” Sandlin said. “But they kept coming and after the second I think everyone knew that there was a shooter.” Sandlin, who was standing further away from where the initial shots were fired, said they weren’t as loud in his ears as some. But the words of his teacher rang clearly in his head. “Go,” his teacher said. “There are gunshots. Go.” As everyone began to scatter in the Commons Area of Marshall County High School, Sandlin described the frantic scene unfolding before his eyes. Backpacks, phones and drinks were discarded to the ground. Shoes were lost in the scramble. Students slipped on spilled beverages. As students managed to exit the area, the shooter eventually followed them outside in an attempt to blend in with the others. “Some people saw him shooting but no one was concerned about seeing who it was, just getting the hell out of there,” Sandlin said. Sandlin said no one knew for sure who the shooter was for sure. Rumors spread that the shooter had blended in with the rest of the crowd, acting like one of the frenzied students running for their lives. “No one expected him to be the guy,” Sandlin said. “He was a really nice kid. Smart, funny and seemed to be liked. When I was around him, there wasn’t really any indication that he was capable of something like that.” But the scene that was unfolding before Sandlin’s eyes proved what he thought was impossible. “People were climbing out of windows and trampling over people,” Sandlin said. “What I saw as soon as I got out was everyone in a panic. I heard teachers asking what was going on because they were in the dark as much as we were.” Sandlin said students were jumping into cars, running across the street and onto a nearby bus. Before making the decision to cross the street, Sandlin said a teacher calmly approached him, attempting to console the group he was with and told them where to go to get to safety. “The group I was following literally broke down a fence and we were walking over it,” he said. “Obviously everyone was scattered because their instinct was to get as far away as they could as quick as they could.” During lockdown, speculation took over for a lack of true information. Sandlin said students were crying, scared and reluctant to remain cooped up in one room for two hours without any information. But he said Marshall County High School’s principal, Patricia Greer, was determined to keep students calm and collected. “She came around to keep people informed and she did a superb job on how she handled it all,” Sandlin said. “She told everyone to stay there and she rallied all the faculty at North to let them know how things were gonna go and did the same with the parents.” For Sandlin and so many students like him, Jan. 23 will go down in history as the day of the Marshall County High School shooting. But it will also be known as the day that a community rallied together, linked arms and chose to remain Marshall strong.
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“Everyone at that point was running out, and I probably got three-quarters of the way to King Brothers before I stopped and turned around...” - Kaden Chiles, Marshall County sophomore
Map courtesy of Google
King Brothers Supermarket is about half a mile from Marshall County High School, a distance some students hoped to make to escape the shooting at the school.
Left without a choice Blake Sandlin Assistant Sports Editor
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Ashley Traylor || News Editor atraylor@murraystate.edu
“Everyday you get up and you can choose to be late to school, but this time it was in his hands. It’s either you get out and live, or you’re going to stay and die.” Marshall County sophomore Kaden Chiles, along with hundreds of other students, were gathered in the Commons Area just outside of the school’s cafeteria at 7:57 am. Chiles was with friends on the far side of the room when a bang rang throughout the room. “It sounded like a balloon had popped,” Chiles said. “I just thought it was a joke, like they were popping a bag of chips or something. Then two more went off and I looked over there and saw him holding his pistol with both hands, and I saw him shoot one more time and I actually saw the fire come out of the end of it. Then it was rapid; I heard like seven or eight more shots I think.” The assailant was just a few short feet away from Chiles, standing near the school’s upper gym lobby, facing a crowd of vulnerable students. “He didn’t know how to shoot the gun, I could tell by how he was moving and how he was holding it,” Chiles said describing the face-to-face encounter with the suspect. “His face, it wasn’t angry; it was almost determined. It was the most horrifying thing I’ve ever seen.” “Something changed when he had that gun his hands,” Chiles continued. “He looked like he wanted to kill a certain
type of person, but I don’t think he had anyone in particular because I don’t think anyone has given him a reason.” The seconds that followed prompted utter pandemonium for the students at the high school that morning. Chiles was forced to make a split-second decision; a fight-or-flight response that would prove imperative to his survival. “I had no plan,” Chiles said. “It was just instinctive. As soon as I realized it was a gun, I thought ‘I have to get out of here’.” As the 15-year-old attempted to navigate through the chaos, he was concurrently aware of the turmoil unfolding around him. “At one point, everyone realized what was happening at the exact same moment and that they had to get out,” Chiles said. “It was just panic. Everybody hit the ground. I remember seeing everyone just ducking or hitting the ground and just laying down because it’s just instincts at that point. I remember everyone was running to get out and everyone was getting trampled.” Chiles began to run toward the school’s office area, but quickly recalibrated and found a set of doors that led outside of the school. He managed to escape the chaos and found himself, like many others, running for his life. Chiles said students sought refuge wherever they could – for some, it was local businesses like Defew’s Body Shop or Doss Dentistry; for him, he found himself sprinting towards King Brothers, a local supermarket located nearly a half mile away from the school. “I ran out [the doors] and tripped at least four or five times,” Chiles said. “Everyone at that point was running out,
Our thoughts and prayers are with each individual affected by this tragedy. J-Mack BBQ
and I probably got three-quarters of the way to King Brothers before I stopped and turned around because there was no point in me going all of the way there.” He encountered his cousin while trying to escape the area, and the two of them slowly made their way back to the campus, where he saw administrators ushering students towards Marshall County’s Technical Center, a separate building located behind the school. There, students were sent to separate classrooms as the school was put on lockdown. Students were instructed to sign in and were told to place their backpacks outside of the rooms. While many students were isolated to the Technical Center, numerous others were left scattered all over the campus – several were lodged in the school’s weight room outside of the football stadium, others were hiding in the guard shack on campus. The Marshall County school system has previously devoted time training students on how to respond in crisis situations like the one that occurred Tuesday morning, but Chiles said when confronted with the worst, those efforts went out the window. “It’s good to prepare like that and it all makes sense to not let anyone in your room and locking your room and setting up everything, but at the end of the day, in that situation, it becomes real and doesn’t work,” Chiles said. “It was pretty much crap and didn’t help anybody because we’ve always done drills for when you’re in class. We did lockdown drills for when we were in class; we never did anything for when we were in the Commons.”
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Students ran from the high school to a nearby dentist office to seek shelter.
It could have been me One student missed school, only to help save injured classmates Ashley Traylor News Editor atraylor@murraystate.edu Blake Sandlin Assistant Sports Editor bsandlin1@murraystate.edu “I would’ve been in the Commons,” Derek Doss, senior at Marshall County High School, said. “God works in mysterious ways.” Usually, Doss leaves for school around 7:50 a.m., but fortunately Tuesday morning he was delayed arriving to Marshall County High School. About two weeks ago, Doss and his dad were in a car accident traveling to Alabama, which totaled his dad’s car. The morning of the shooting, his mom was waiting on a maintenance worker to fix their water heater, so she could not drive his dad to their family business, Doss Dentistry. Little did Doss know, taking his dad to work would remove him from a life-threatening high school shooting. “That really puts things in perspective,” Doss said. “...I didn’t experience hearing the gunshots or seeing him [the shooter].” As Doss and his dad were driving down the road to the dentistry, which is located near the school, they witnessed mass chaos erupting. “I was driving on the road when I saw everyone running and at first, I
thought it was a field trip or something because everyone seemed happy,” he said. “I honestly don’t know. But then, we saw like 200 other kids running.” They pulled into the school parking lot about a minute after the shooter pulled the trigger. In that moment, Doss said they knew something was wrong. “I saw three baseball players, and I yelled their names because I knew their names,” Doss said. “I told them to come because they were looking lost and scared. As they came, others came too.” Doss and his dad took some students to safety, while others sprinted from the Commons Area to find protection at the dentistry. Throughout the morning, he said about 20 students were in-and-out, as their parents came to pick them up. Doss and his dad committed their time to helping those students involved in the shooting. Two students were injured from gunshot wounds, and one student sprained her knee after being trampled while trying to bolt from the school grounds. “Dad got towels and applied pressure to the wounds because that’s the only thing to do – because that’s the first thing to do – and he called 911,” Doss said. While these students were in the midst of tragedy, Doss said there was
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“At first, I thought it was a field trip or something because everyone seemed happy... But then, we saw like 200 other kids running.” no screaming or squirming and everyone was calm. “The four boys that initially came in, my friends, they were composed,” he said. “They were quiet. One threw up. That kid was having a rough time, but the two boys that were shot, they were amazing.” One of his friends was shot twice in the arm, as well as the leg. Doss’ other friend was standing up, because he was shot in the hip. Luckily, Doss said he will recover from the flesh wound to his hip. Doss and his dad had open arms for the students seeking help at their dentistry. Despite having a schedule of patient appointments, Doss said his dad did his best to go back and forth between patients and local news media. “I had many thank me even though there’s no thanks needed to be given,” Doss said. “They needed help and we helped them. I couldn’t imagine the teachers and the first responders and their bravery.”
Our thoughts and prayers go out to all those affected by the Marshall County Shooting.
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Support through faith
PHOTOS FROM Marshall County community gathers for vigils THE DAY
Emily Williams Features Editor
ewilliams15@murraystate.edu
The church family of First Missionary Baptist Church of Benton, home to several Marshall County High School students and Marshall County natives, was one of many churches that gathered together for a time of prayer and reflection on Tuesday night. K. Alan Miller, Senior Pastor of First Missionary Baptist, was on the scene at Marshall County High School shortly after the events of the morning began to unfold. He offered words of comfort to the congregation on Tuesday night along with accounts of what he had seen that day. “I can honestly tell you that everything can seem like a distant dream until you talk to a parent whose son is being lifeflighted to Vanderbilt,” Miller said. “To talk to them on the phone in that moment, brings this to a whole other reality.” Miller said their church congregation chose to worship in the midst of this tragedy because they believe that God can redeem and work through
Brock Kirk/The News
Students from Marshall County High School and members of the community attended First Missionary Baptist Church of Benton for vigil. The church chose to worship God in the wake of tragedy.
all situations. “We do it on a Sunday morning when life is good,” Miller said to the congregation. “Tonight, we’re going to do it on a Tuesday night, when we need him [God] the most and when our community needs it the most.” Kaitlin Lindsay, member of First Missionary Baptist Church and Marshall County High School alumnus, said as a former student at Marshall, hearing the news of what had happened while being at work was devastating. “Knowing that I stood and hung out in the same place of this tragic event five years ago had me in
disbelief,” Lindsay said. “I wanted to believe it was all a nightmare but it wasn’t. It was real.” Lindsay said what she saw from the back of the church building at the vigil after the shooting broke her heart. “To see students who had to go through this terrible day cry and hug on each other brought me to tears,” Lindsay said. “No 15 or 18 year old should have to go through what they are going through right now.” But for Lindsay, the vigil was something that helped her see past her grief and look forward to brighter days and a
brighter future. “As I sat there and listened to our pastor speak to the crowd, it gave me hope for our future and for the students that have to enter those doors at the school again soon,” Lindsay said. “These next days, months, and even years are not going to be easy for anyone but, I know with Christ in the middle of it all, somehow our community will rise above this.” Vigils were held in various locations across the counties on Tuesday and Wednesday, including but not limited to, surrounding county high schools, local companies and organizations.
President Davies responds to shooting
January 24, 2018
Dear Community, On Tuesday morning of this week a horrific tragedy hit very close to home with an active shooter situation at Marshall County High School. We are eternally grateful for the authorities who responded and quickly had the shooter in custody. And we are devastated by the loss of life of two students and the many injuries that occurred. Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to the students, family and friends at Marshall County High School and to our local communities. At the time of the incident, several Murray State student teachers, interns and a faculty supervisor were at Marshall County High School. We are extremely thankful for those across our campus and throughout our various communities who worked to ensure that they were safe. And, we will forevermore be grateful to all members of our communities who supported the students, faculty, staff and the family members of Marshall County High School – and are continuing to assist them – through this time of grief and hardship. Murray State University has shared a positive and productive partnership with Marshall County High School through teacher education services, collaboration with nursing students, music competitions and athletic cooperatives to name just a few initiatives. The University also serves as “home away from home” for many high school students from Marshall County and our surrounding communities who are attending college. We are fortunate to have many faculty and staff from these areas who give of their time and treasures to Murray State University. As we are such strong partners, Murray State stands ready to support Marshall County High School in any way possible. As we all are asking questions, grieving and trying to gain an understanding of this tragedy, it is time, as a community, to come together, to support one another and give strength to each other. Please continue to keep Marshall County, the families who lost loved ones and all those impacted by this tragic event in your thoughts and prayers. Respectfully,
Bob Davies President
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The FBI and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives are assisting in the investigation.
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#MARSHALLSTRONG
Bryan Edwards/The News
Murray and Calloway County High School players, coaches and fans showed support for Marshall County during Tuesday’s cross-town rivalry with a moment of silence, a prayer and wearing orange.
T
From the staff
he Murray State News Editorial Board, staff and contributors would like to extend our humblest thoughts and prayers to the Marshall County community and those affected by the recent shooting. Loss of life is difficult to comprehend, but even more so when it affects the youngest and most vulnerable in our society. As a group of students dedicated to the art of local reporting, we at The News take our position as a community leader seriously. That is why we have dedicated the past few days to gathering as much information as possible regarding the Marshall County High School shooting. Those who have made their home, however temporary, here in western Kentucky deserve to be informed at all times. Our publication this week is devoted to fulfilling this mission. In the face of tragedy and loss, the
importance of reporting in a way which is respectful of those affected should be a priority; we have done our due diligence in honoring this important tenet of any professional news organization. We have received questions throughout the week on why we have not mentioned the name of the alleged suspect or shown a photo of him. The News will not publish information on the suspect until Kentucky State Police officially release the details because he is a juvenile. If he is charged as an adult then the court proceedings would become public, it is the belief of the staff that then – and only then – would it be appropriate to release information that information. As collegiate journalists we are taught to abide by the Society for Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, which includes do no
harm. We asked ourselves what journalistic value would there be in releasing that information prematurely and whether or not it would cause more harm. In the end, it was a collective decision to withhold the identity of the alleged suspect. This tragedy marks the 11th school shooting of 2018, a year still in its infancy. This is not simply a statistic: it is our reality. Gun violence is endangering the lives of our future newswriters, doctors and inventors. And in today’s increasingly interconnected world, there is little reason for the disconnect concerning how to resolve this plague on our nation. It is time we as a country come together to combat senseless violence. We cannot continue to call the United States the “greatest country on Earth” if we allow this to happen over and over again.