On Friday, Feb. 16, at 9:01 a.m., I received the most distressing text I've ever read.
"Theres been a schooling shooting at highline. We're in lockdown right now."
That's what my little sister sent my family's group chat. She goes to Highline College, and at 9 a.m. the sounds of 5-8 gunshots echoed against the walls of the school's library.
She stood there questioning the noises she heard until she saw dozens of students running from the vicinity of the library screaming 'GUN!'
At least, that's what she told me after the fact when my family regrouped after the incident because I was at work at the time, 21.3 miles away and feeling utterly helpless.
My family texted back immediately, telling her to take cover, telling her to hide, telling her to stay safe because what else could we do. I later learned that we all took to Twitter and the various live feeds from the scene where the police and several helicopters had surrounded the school. And while the response time was quick, those 23 minutes between the sounds of the gunfire and the police arriving on the scene were excruciating. I couldn't work. I couldn't focus on anything else.
Immediately I think about gun control. Don't let politicians fool you, 46% of Americans want stricter gun laws, that numbers slightly rises and falls according to which poll you look at, but the fact remains that across the board roughly half of Americans are unhappy with the current legislation.
At this point, my sister is hiding from a potential active shooter and I'm already thinking about gun control. I don't want thoughts and prayers, I want my sister to be safe and for this to never happen to anyone else ever again.
My only outlet was Twitter. I tweeted to get the word out. I tweeted my frustration. I furiously read the thousands of incoming tweets over the excruciating two hours of Highline's lockdown. The tweets were faster than the news, but still not fast enough. I needed answers.
Dad: "where are you right now" 9:02 a.m.
Sister: "In the main building with a bunch of other students."
Sister: "We r hiding in this tiny windowless room" 9:03 a.m.
More questions, more waiting, more reading cyclical tweets and news articles that send you to the same sources.
Older sister: "Can you lock door? Is a teacher there" 9:13 a.m.
Sister: "Building 6. with tons of students and teachers."
Sister: "We r in a tiny office room with the door barricaded" 9:14 a.m.
Then silence from my younger sister. Silence.
For 25 minutes: nothing. Just frantic family members texting any news or information surrounding the shooting. For 25 minutes she doesn't respond.
Then finally:
"We were moved to building 7" 9:39 a.m.
Not evacuated, yet. But alive.
SWAT teams went in, ambulance and police sirens filled the air as I watched the live feeds for some new information.
Finally, 1 hour and 37 minutes later:
"We are being evacuated right now" 10:48 a.m.
Hours later when my family gathered, together at last, a press released revealed that the 5-8 gunshots were firecrackers.
Let that sink in.
It may seem counterproductive, to want to discuss gun control after a school shooting when in fact the culprit was probably pranksters with firecrackers and not someone with a gun. But at what point did our instinct become to think gun instead of firecrackers? When do we hear firecrackers and think gun? Have we really become so disillusioned, so desensitized to gun violence that we expect it at every turn?
I never want anyone else to have to experience the pain of thinking your family member is in the middle of a school shooting. I never want anyone to fear that the few minutes they don't respond means they've become a victim. And I never want any of what I experience to be REAL for someone else.
No one should have a family member, friend, colleague, anyone, SHOT because of someone who got hold of a gun by any means, legal or otherwise. No one should have to lose someone close to them, and no one should be killed because of a gun.
I'm sick of people saying this is a mental health issue. It isn't. That's been debunked many times by sources far more credible than me. I'm sick of the 'guns don't kill people' rhetoric. I'm sick of people in political power discrediting our real immediate concerns because it's 'too soon.'
If you're sick of this too and want to take action you can donate to, or even share the information of organizations that are working against the rising and immediate threat of gun violence.
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence
Coalition to Stop Gun Violence
Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America
If you're in the Washington D.C. area consider attending the painfully necessary March For Our Lives on March 24, or any of the sister marches happening across the world. Find the Seattle March info here.
I hope that you don't feel fear as you reading this. I hope you feel as I do while I write this: furious. Be motivated to say something to those who have more legislative power than you do--they may hold political power but the true power is in your hands and your voice! Register to vote and get ready to fill your ballots this November with politicians who are pro-gun control.
Spread the word. Shout to the rooftops. We don't just want gun control we need it. So the next time firecrackers are lit at school we don't immediately go into lockdowns. So that we can live without fear of being shot simply because we went to school.
It's not too soon. I'm ready and wiling to talk about gun control. For those who are too afraid, and for those, like the 17 slaughtered in Florida, who can't.
