I Predicted the Florida School Shooting

The evening of Monday, February 12, I was sitting in my chemistry lab measuring iron content of a salt complex when the fire alarm sounded and the sprinklers went off. My brain kicked into overdrive as I desperately racked my brain to remember all that I’d ever been taught in school drills about how to get safely out of the building. But before I had managed to grab my coat and make my way out of the lab, I heard what I never wanted to hear so close to me, gunshots. Now in complete shock, myself and the rest of my lab period stuck ourselves into the tiny back room, shut the door, and turned off the lights, hoping that we would get out of this alive.

For me, this traumatic experience was only an incredibly realistic dream. But two days later, my nightmare became a reality for the students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida when 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz opened fire, killing 17 people and injuring others.

Just to be clear, no I do not actually believe I am a psychic, that I have a sixth sense, or that I really “predicted” the Florida shooting. However, I believe it speaks volumes that I — an 18-year-old college student — only got four hours of sleep one night last week because I dreamt my university would have an active shooter. In the U.S., our day-to-day is becoming too scary and too predictable. As of January 1, there have been 34 mass shootings. That is 34 in 53 days, which is more than one every other day. In 2017, the U.S. saw 346 mass shootings.

According to a study by the Harvard Injury Control Research Center, the frequency of mass shootings in the U.S. has only increased over time. We have gone from an average of 200 days between shootings during 1983 to 2011, to only a reported average of 64 days since 2011.

Back in 2012, when the Sandy Hook Elementary shooting became the deadliest mass shooting at either a high school or elementary school, our country renewed the debate on gun control and the second amendment. It has been just barely over five years since then, and there have been at least 1,607 more mass shootings. When will we finally reach the point where “never again” truly means never again?

We have seen an amazing thing from the survivors of the Florida school shooting. Over a week later the open debate on gun control is still in the news, and the Marjory Stoneman Douglas students are still making their mark on the world. I, for one, am in awe of their strength and resilience. I am writing this article because I believe we will not find an answer for gun control if we let the conversation die. We have to keep taking the next steps towards what is right. Our answer shouldn’t be to arm teachers, or maybe not even to limit the number of guns someone can buy. Honestly, I don’t have a good answer to what our solution could be. But there are hundreds of politicians and other highly intelligent people out there who can figure out what will work for our country. The truth is, the U.S.’s gun homicide rate is 25 times higher than other high-income countries. How is that acceptable in 2018?

Enough is enough. Parents and family members should no longer have to fear for the lives of their loved ones on a daily basis. Mass shootings don’t just occur in schools, they happen in movie theaters, in strip malls, anywhere someone with a gun can walk into. We never think we will be a part of the minority until it happens to us. I implore our government to take the necessary steps to ensure that this never happens to anyone again. And until you do, I promise that all of us will be here fighting and standing up for what is right.