Our hearts were broken last week upon learning of that mass shooting at a Kentucky high school. A 15-year-old sophomore opened fire and killed two 15-year-old classmates and wounded at least 18 other students, and once again our nation can collectively mourn the tragedy of young lives -- two in this instance -- that ended far too soon.
It’s also saddening that the rest of the student body and faculty at Marshall County High School have been robbed of their innocence and peace of mind for years to come, perhaps forever.
Some major news media quickly noted that the Kentucky shooting was the 11th “school” shooting of 2018. We utilize quotation marks because not all of those were akin to the Marshall County High violence. Two of those involved suicides, including one of a 31-year-old military veteran who ended his life in the empty parking lot of a Michigan school. Another was an accidental discharge of a gun at a weapons-training class. Two others occurred on college campuses, including random shots fired from a truck that smashed into a wall at 2 a.m. Another incident related to a school bus window broken by a pellet gun fired by an adult.
Such misleading, hyperbolic news unnecessarily raises the fear levels among students, parents and school administrators. That said, we don’t necessarily want to quibble with the definition of a school shooting. But we do want to note that, thanks to some alert yet unknown local students, our community perhaps avoided being added to this list.
Last week the school resource officer at Tenoroc High School in Lakeland arrested Terrika Nichole Whitfield, a 16-year-old freshman, for carrying a loaded gun on school grounds.
According to the Sheriff’s Office, some students saw the 9mm pistol in Terrika’s waistband and told faculty members. They, in turn, informed the deputy on duty at the school, who located the pistol in Terrika’s backpack. The pistol, whose serial number had been filed off, had one bullet in its chamber and another in its magazine.
It’s unclear what Terrika intended to do with the gun. The Sheriff’s Office reported she has a troubled past, with past arrests for drug charges and for punching a school employee. At the time of her latest arrest, Terrika was on probation for battery on a law enforcement officer and assault. Perhaps she intended to harm someone or herself; perhaps it was for protection from some other menace.
Either way it’s unacceptable to bring a gun into our schools. So, we join Superintendent Jacqueline Byrd in expressing our appreciation for the students who spoke up and possibly prevented mayhem.
These incidents make us understandably jittery. Recall that last fall Lake Gibson High in Lakeland was placed on lockdown after a car backfiring made people think someone had fired a gun. But it is better to err on the side of caution.
Thus, the old adage still applies. As the students at Tenoroc showed, if you see something, say something. This issue is making the children in our schools grow up too fast, but until we figure out how to deal better with students accessing and using guns, students and faculty must be encouraged to speak up so Polk County doesn't get added to the tragic and ever-growing list that Marshall County High just joined.