What Is Happening
To Our Children?
The Horrible Trend of School Shootings
and sadness forget you . . . "
~ from Madonna's Ray of Light (Little Star)
May 21, 1998 -- Two students are killed and more than 20 other people wounded after a 15-year-old boy allegedly opens fire at Thurston High School in Springfield, Oregon. The bodies of the suspect's parents were found in his home.
May 19, 1998 -- Three days before his graduation, an 18-year-old honor student allegedly opens fire in a parking lot at Lincoln County High School in Fayetteville, Tennessee, killing a classmate who was dating his ex-girlfriend.
April 24, 1998 -- A 48-year-old science teacher is shot to death in front of students at a graduation dance in Edinboro, Pennsylvania. A 14-year-old student at James W. Parker Middle School is charged.
March 24, 1998 -- Four girls and a teacher shot to death and 10 others wounded during a false alarm at Westside Middle School in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Two boys, age 11 and 13, are accused of setting the alarm and then opening fire from nearby woods.
December 1, 1997 -- Three students are killed and five others wounded in a prayer circle in a hallway at Heath High School in West Paducah, Kentucky. A 14-year-old student is arrested. One of the wounded girls is left paralyzed.
October 1, 1997 -- A 16-year-old in Pearl, Mississippi, is accused of killing his mother, then going to Pearl High School and shooting 9 students. Two die, including the suspect's ex-girlfriend. Authorities later accuse six friends of conspiracy, saying the suspects dabbled in satanism.
February 19, 1997 -- A 16-year-old student opens fire with a shotgun in a common area at the Bethel, Alaska, High School, killing the principal and a student. Two other students are wounded. Authorities later accuse two other students of knowing the shootings would take place. Evan Ramsey was sentenced to two 99-year terms.
February 2, 1996 -- A 14-year-old boy walks into algebra class in a trenchcoat with a hunting rifle and allegedly opens fire, killing the teacher and 2 students. A third student is injured during the shooting at Frontier Junior High School in Moses Lake, Washington. Prosecutors say the boy was inspired by the plot of a Stephen King novel and by the movie "Natural Born Killers".
Pray for Columbine
These are terrible tragedies that leave us in astonished disbelief and undescribeable sadness. One can speculate for the rest of one's life on why it happens, but we will probably never know for sure what turns our children into cold-blooded killers.
Please pray for these victims and especially their families. Please pray for our country and what it has become. Violence is everywhere and running rampant. Please help stop it. And please pray that I may never have to update this page.
