Parkland

On February 14, a tragedy happened down at Parkland, Florida in Stoneman Douglas High School.

“No one expected it happen, I live less than an hour away and when I heard the news, I was shocked because Parkland was ranked as one of the safest towns in Florida.” Katalina Pho said.

Katalina Pho, who used to attend Greater Latrobe back in 2008, lives in a town only less than an hour away from the tragic incident.

“It was absolute chaos. There was traffic even where I was at. My parents and everyone else was in shock when we turned on the TV and my school even spent a whole day to mourn for those who lost their lives.” Katalina said.

Stoneman Douglas High School unfortunately lost 17 people in the tragedy and left 22 others injured. The shooter, who was 19 year old, was a former student who was known to be dangerous and extremely reckless, even when he attended the school. He showed many warning signs such as Instagramming photos of him holding guns and knives. He also had been expelled from Stoneman Douglas for many reckless reasons such as fighting.

“I know a few people from Stoneman Douglas, however, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for them and refused to ask them for information because I can’t imagine what it’s like to go through something so tragic and heartbreaking. I do know that they did have a feeling that something bad was going to happen though.” Katalina said.

According to news articles, rumors, and even Katalina Pho, the 19 year old shooter, Nikolas Cruz, was suspected to do something terrible to the school because he showed signs such as arguing with teachers on a daily basis, harassing other classmen, socially distancing himself from others, and many more. According to news articles, Nikolas Cruz lost his mother just a few months before the incident and claims that his loss drove him to depression which affected his psychological issues.

Parkland is now fighting for gun control and many more due to the incident because according to the media, Parkland’s shooting is now the 18th shooting that has happened in 2018. Many people all around the world are also now doing a school walk for 17 minutes to mourn for the 17 people who have lost their lives in the incident.