The Impact of Gun Violence Worldwide
By Shemiza Basdeo
On May 24, 2022, a shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, took the lives of nineteen children and two adults while several others were injured fighting for their lives. The attacker was 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, who claimed he was bullied and used that as an excuse for why he decided to open fire in the school with innocent children. The shooting in Uvalde, Texas, proves that people are taking advantage of the 2nd Amendment by using their right to bear arms to kill innocent people. After the shooting, people all over the world were left heartbroken. Students who were only in the 4th grade were the victims of this mass shooting. These children did not have the chance to graduate, grow up, start their careers, or live their lives to the fullest. The lives of those children were taken so quickly, and now their parents and loved ones are left to grieve for them for the rest of their lives. The loved ones will always have a void in their homes, where their loving child used to live. The experience of hearing that your child was a victim of gun violence is one that is unimaginable and unfathomable. The Uvalde shooting was one of the deadliest and most devastating school shootings that occurred, and people all over are expressing that the government has failed its people and their safety.
On Oct. 6, a mass shooting occurred in Thailand at a daycare center where children were trying to take a nap, according to the New York Times. Suddenly, there was chaos when a recently fired police officer, Panya Kamrab (34 years old), was armed with a handgun and a knife and went on a rampage.
Kamrab took 36 lives; 24 were innocent children, while the rest were adults. In addition, 10 individuals were injured as a result of the attack. This was the worst and deadliest mass shooting by a sole perpetrator in Thailand. It even surpassed the death tolls of the deadliest shootings in the U.S.A: Sandy Hook Elementary School and Robb Elementary School in Uvalde. Teachers tried their best to protect the little ones, but the gunman was on a rampage and could not be stopped.
Kamrab was found to be abusing drugs, which led to him losing his position, and authorities speculated that getting fired was the stressor for him. Other police officers stressed that it would have been wise to take away Kamrab’s weapons in his possession as he was not in his right state of mind, but they came to a devastating realization that it was too late. Families of the victims had to grieve their loved ones as they were snatched from them in a deadly massacre that could have been avoided.
After the attack, Kamrab shot himself fatally in his home, where his wife and son were also found killed. Therefore, officials in Thailand realized that this disastrous attack could have been avoided if they had been diligent and cautious, and they also came to an understanding that it was time for them and the entire country as a whole to come together to protect their people.
The need for gun control after the shooting became even more necessary. But there is pushback from people who say these laws infringe on their second amendment rights. But is your right to carry a gun more important than a child’s life?
People acquiring guns must go through a more rigorous process. As of now, it is too easy for individuals to get a gun easily and use it for the wrong reasons.
As a result of the shooting, students’ lives were cut short. This begs the question of how students are supposed to concentrate on school and assignments when they need to remain vigilant while supposedly in a safe space.
