The topic I chose to write about is the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting. The Sandy Hook Elementary School held around 700 students ranging from ages 6 to 10 years old. This tragic event happened on December 14, 2012, in Newton, Connecticut by a 20-year-old named Adam Lanza. At 9:30 a.m. was when the first 911 calls were made. Lanza shot and killed 26 people total; six of those victims were kids ages 6 and 7 and the other six victims were adult staff members that worked at the school. Earlier that morning, prior to when the event took place Lanza used a .22 caliber Savage Mark II rifle to kill his mother, so that he could steal her car and use it to drive himself to the Sandy Hook Elementary School. It was after this tragic event when former president Barack Obama spoke on the issue and how we can prevent it moving forward; the issue of how accessible guns are to people who clearly are using them for the wrong reasons. Obama ordered flags to be flown at half-mast At the White House and other Federal buildings to show respect for the victims that were killed. It is a tragic tragedy that people all across America and the world have to worry about when they send their kids to school worrying if some random man or woman will come in with a life threatening motive. When I was growing up I never remember having to worry about a shooter coming into my school and killing my friends. It is when guns become easily accessible when these shootings begin to happen often. Not only are shootings happening in schools but also just recently in a town that I live right next door to was a shooting in Highland Park, Illinois during a 4th of July parade where families expect to laugh and enjoy themselves. This issue today is still not resolved and I think that the general public can agree because there are mass shootings happening way too often to innocent people every single day.  I think people forget that just because something may not make the news doesn’t mean it’s not happening somewhere in the world;  people are being killed every single day from gun violence whether it was an intentional shooting or by accident. Overall I think people have to do a better job about speaking out against this issue because too many people are dying and are not able to live the beautiful life that we have to live every single day.  I think that people take their lives for granted and I think that people think that nothing can harm them or nothing bad could happen to them. I think we’re all guilty of thinking or feeling this way but when you see and hear these awful tragedies in the news so often, you really have to sit down and ask yourself can this happen to me one day. Nobody is safe if they’re at the wrong place at the wrong time. 

https://www.cnn.com/2013/06/07/us/connecticut-shootings-fast-facts/index.html

https://theconversation.com/how-the-power-of-persuasion-goes-way-beyond-mere-advertising-115400