On Friday Jan. 26, two highschool students from Innovations High School were shot in downtown Chicago, bringing the issue of gun violence  to people’s minds once again. 

The incident took place at 1 p.m. as the students were exiting the school building. A group of gunmen open fire on multiple students. Two students were killed, 16-year-old Robert Boston and 17-year-old Monterio Williams. They were transported to a hospital in critical condition and died shortly after. 

This shouldn’t come as a shocker by now. In the current state of our country, shootings are simply a daily occurrence. No one is really surprised when we hear of yet another shooting in the news. 

From afar, it may seem like just another number to add to the tally, but only when it happens so close to home does the weight of the matter really sink in. 

School shootings devastate communities and families while instilling widespread paranoia about what could have happened. 

The shock of a school shooting, whether it be at a student’s school or in a nearby area, remains in the forefront of a student’s mind for quite some time. 

The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia writes on the issue, “Perhaps the most disturbing effects of school shootings are the feeling of on-going danger that permeates schools where they have occurred. The school’s climate and sense of community are profoundly damaged.” 

The atmosphere of a school is forever changed with the momentous event of a school shooting. 

A place that used to be seen as a “safe haven” by students is stripped of that title in their minds as they are left with the looming fear of danger. 

The overall well-being of students that have survived a school shooting dwindles as their mental health and academic performances decline exponentially. 

According to the Institute for Economic Policy Research, “Research indicates a higher rate of antidepressant use among those exposed to a school shooting in the years following the gun violence” and “School shootings lead to drops in student enrollment and a decline in average test scores.” 

It is evident that more regulation needs to be implemented on the accessibility of guns. More than 100,000 students attended a school in which there was a shooting between 2018 and 2019. 100,000 students who’s safety was compromised to protect the availability of a weapon. 

Students are directly put in the line of danger of guns and are facing the consequences of the lack of gun regulations in the U.S. Their security is sacrificed for firearms that are killing their friends and taking away their safe space. 

The unchallenging action of acquiring a gun is directly impacting the youth as they are directly suffering the consequences of those firearms getting in the wrong hands. People who are in no way responsible enough to handle a firearm are the ones obtaining and abusing them. 

We need to take action against the normalization of gun violence and easy access of guns. We need to protect our youth.