![The cross country team poses for the camera after finishing the district meet. The varsity boys, JV boys and JV girls all placed third and the varsity girls placed fourth. “Coach put in the right training for us for this season, so I think we will be peaking this week and the next couple of weeks,” varsity runner and junior Nathan Kukla said. “The chances of making it to state are very high, but we don’t settle for the lowest and there is always going to be that chance, so [we] race for the best.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Heidi-831-1200x900.jpg)
![Sucking in a breath of air, freshman Lily Pope competes in the 200 yard individual medley. On Oct. 25, the swim team competed in the AISD Swim Invitational. Overall, the girls team took second place and the boys team came in eleventh. “My favorite stroke is butterfly because I do the best in that stroke,” Pope said. “I feel like [butterfly] can test how [your ability] to convince yourself to keep going. The hardest part of swimming is convincing yourself to stay strong and keep pushing during a hard race [when] everything is tired.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/POPE-1200x804.jpg)
![Smiling at the camera, Author Ehigbor Okosun, members of Page Turners, and other students reflect on the author's visit. “I thought the visit was great,” Senior Amia De Leon said. “It was interesting talking to her and [getting to know] her process and her thoughts and books in general. But I think the reason it went well [was that] people got to ask questions. I'm glad that she said so much in response to the questions and it wasn't just one and done. [The author’s responses] felt very articulate.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Sebastian-5-1200x800.jpg)
![Standing in front of the field at a freshman football game, cheerleader freshman Jacob Gaudreau along with teammate freshman Bella Gibson pose for a photo during halftime of game. “[Cheer has] definitely given me a much more outgoing personality,” Gaudreau said. “I used to be very introverted, so it's definitely made me more extroverted towards people.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Ingrid-204-1200x800.jpg)
![Holding a wooden pizza toy, senior Taylor Peterson plays with small children in Bucaramanga, Colombia. During the summer, Peterson traveled to Colombia to help build an elementary school that only had two classrooms but five or six grades with one teacher. “We add[ed] two more classrooms,” Peterson said. “It’s kind of hard when you have two or three grades in one classroom and you only have one teacher. It’s very hard to actually get some beneficial learning. [The extra classrooms will give the students] a better quality of education because they’ll actually have a place specific for their learning.” Photo by Taylor Peterson](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Taylor-P.png)
![Swinging with his arm extended, senior Nolan Park hits the ball smoothly over the net and to the opponent’s side. Park is one of four varsity tennis captains and helped the team win district championships. “Winning district champs was a pretty awesome feeling,” Park said. “We had lost to Liberty Hill a couple of weeks before, but when we played them [again], we came out and really took care of business. We took them out and it was just a really awesome night.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Kassidy-419.jpg)
![Standing proud, varsity senior athletes Rafael Escobar, Griffin Jacobs, Jakob Martin, and juniors Jackson Springer and Jack Morris pose with their newly earned medals. The varsity team finished third out of 14 teams on Sept. 25. “The team's primary goal is to win the district championship,” head coach Cody Price said. "We're confident that with our action plan in place, we can accomplish this mission. [For the next tournament], our preparation involves assessing our strengths and weaknesses, celebrating milestones and creating individual development plans." Photo courtesy of Cody Price](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/golf.jpg)
Triggered Day 1: Understanding the Numbers
Media Reports the Amount of School Shootings in 2018, May be Misleading
April 2, 2018
It’s April and there have been 33 school shootings in 2018.
Thirty-three. Thirty-three times, a gun went off, placing innocent kids’ lives at risk.
Forty-six people were injured just this year from these school shootings; 28 lives were lost. These numbers may not compare to the 59 person death toll in Las Vegas, or the 49 people killed in the Pulse nightclub in Orlando, but they should in no way be ignored or accepted.
There have been innumerable lives affected by gun violence this year. As the media reports the violence, it is important to understand the phrase “school shooting.” Everytown Research defines a school shooting as “Any time a firearm discharges a live round inside a school building or on a school campus or grounds.”
This means that a suicide or a gun accidentally going off on school grounds is subject to holding the title of a school shooting, no matter the intentions or death toll. To show detail on school shootings that have occurred this year, below is a list from Everytown Research with a short description of the shootings thus far and information on any casualties.
January 4: Seattle, WA
0 killed, 0 injured
An unidentified gunman shot several times through the front office of New Start High School. The window and filing cabinet were hit, and the school went into lockdown.
January 10: Denison, TX
0 killed, 0 injured
A student in a community college picked up and fired a peace officer’s gun, hitting a wall. The student said that he was unaware that the gun was real and loaded.
January 10: Sierra Vista, AZ
1 killed, 0 injured
A 14-year-old boy committed suicide by gun in an elementary school bathroom. The school initially believed there was an active shooter, thus calling a lockdown.
January 10: San Bernardino, CA
0 killed, 0 injured
Gunshots that were reported to have come from off-campus hit a university window. A lockdown was called and classes were canceled. The police found no perpetrator.
January 15: Marshall, TX
0 killed, 0 injured
A vehicle drove into a college parking lot while firing a gun. One bullet hit a residence hall window and the police could not locate the driver after the shooting.
January 20: Winston-Salem, NC
1 killed, 0 injured
Shots were fired at a sorority party after a heated argument, killing one man.
January 22: Italy, TX
0 killed, 1 injured
Shots were fired in a high school cafeteria by a 16-year-old male student. He injured a girl in the neck and abdomen and then aimed at another student. Before hitting the other student, the shooter was held back by the staff.
January 22: Gentilly, LA
0 killed, 1 injured (not from gun wounds)
An armed person driving a pickup truck fired shots at students standing in a high school parking lot. There were no gunshot wounds and a single student with a non-gun related abrasion. Two other students apart from the unidentified shooter were thought to have been involved.
January 23: Benton, KY
2 killed, 18 injured (4 not from gun wounds)
A male student open fired in a high school, injuring many and killing two.
January 25: Mobile, AL
0 killed, 0 injured
After a disagreement between two students, one of them pulled out a handgun. Staff members attempted to calm the student, but he ran to the other side of campus and then fired four or more times into the air.
January 26: Dearborn, MI
0 killed, 0 injured
A fight broke out at a high school basketball game, leading to the removal of both students from the school. After this, one of the students was fired at from a car while in the parking lot. The student was not injured.
January 31: Philadelphia, PA
1 killed, 0 injured
A fight began in the parking lot outside of a high school basketball game, leading to shots fired. One person was shot twice in the leg and died later.
February 1: Los Angeles, CA
0 killed, 2 injured
A handgun was unintentionally fired by a 12-year-old girl, hitting a boy’s head and a girl’s wrist. It is still unknown as to why the girl brought the handgun to school.
February 5: Maplewood, MN
0 killed, 0 injured
A liaison officer’s gun was fired by a third grader while sitting together on a school bench with other students. The bullet hit the ground and it is unknown why the gun’s safety settings had malfunctioned.
February 5: Oxon Hill, MD
0 killed, 1 injured
One student was shot and two students were arrested for their involvement in the shooting.
February 8: New York, NY
0 killed, 0 injured
A 17-year-old boy fired at the floor of his high school classroom. No one was hurt, but he was taken later for questioning.
February 14: Parkland, FL
17 killed, 14 injured
An expelled student open fired in a high school, killing and injuring many. He was caught later by authorities.
February 15: Coconut Creek, FL
0 killed, 1 injured
A deputy shot himself in the leg on accident while in a school, calling the school into lockdown.
February 20: Massillon, OH
1 killed, 0 injured
A male student constructed a complex plan to shoot students in a middle school. He hid a rifle under his clothes and hid in the bathroom, where a student spotted his gun and ran to report it. The gunman then shot himself and died, injuring no other students.
February 23: Hammond, LA
0 killed, 2 injured
Two students fought outside of a sports hall at a university. Shots were fired by two non-students, hitting the students. The two students had non-life threatening injuries.
February 24: Savannah, GA
0 killed, 1 injured
One student was shot multiple times near a university. Another student was charged for carrying weapons on campus, which led to the other student’s injuries.
February 26: Tacoma, WA
0 killed, 0 injured
Two male students fired a gun through a school’s bathroom floor, sending a bullet into the class below.
February 27: Norfolk, VA
0 killed, 1 injured
A student was shot through a dorm wall and no suspect was found.
February 27: Itta Bena, MS
0 killed, 1 injured
A person was shot in a college after there was a disagreement within a group of people.
February 28: Dalton, GA
0 killed, 0 injured
A school teacher locked himself in a classroom and fired through a window. He would not respond as to why he did it.
March 2: Mount Pleasant, MI
2 killed, 0 injured
A male student shot and killed his parents in his dorm room.
March 4: San Marcos, TX
0 killed, 0 injured
A student fired into a university residence hall, hitting a window but no people. He had earlier gotten into a disagreement with another student.
March 5: Cadet, MO
1 killed, 0 injured
A boy committed suicide by shooting himself in a school bathroom right after lunch.
March 7: Birmingham, AL
1 killed, 1 injured
A boy was shot in a school, killing that student. The perpetrator injured himself in efforts to shoot the other student, but it was not fatal.
March 9: Lexington, KY
0 killed, 1 injured
A student unintentionally shot himself in the thumb after bringing a gun to class.
March 13: Seaside, CA
0 killed, 0 injured
An officer accidentally fired a bullet into the ceiling during his public safety class.
March 13: Alexandria, VA
0 killed, 0 injured
A police officer accidentally fired a gun inside a school.
March 20: Great Mills, MD
1 killed, 1 injured
A student open fired in a high school, injuring one other student. Their resource officer shot at the student, resulting in the death of the shooter. It is unknown as to whether the shooter’s death was due to the officer’s gunshots, or from suicide.
As the media continues to speak about school shooting rates, it is important to know that there were not 33 gunmen with complex plans to kill their peers. While some were unintentional and many resulted in few casualties, this does not in any way justify the dozens of times that students and faculty were in danger.
As a part of this school safety series, CPHS News will go in depth on ways that students can stay safe in school. More information from the counseling office can be found on in the following links. In addition, be sure to watch the each day’s Wolfcast.
![Sucking in a breath of air, freshman Lily Pope competes in the 200 yard individual medley. On Oct. 25, the swim team competed in the AISD Swim Invitational. Overall, the girls team took second place and the boys team came in eleventh. “My favorite stroke is butterfly because I do the best in that stroke,” Pope said. “I feel like [butterfly] can test how [your ability] to convince yourself to keep going. The hardest part of swimming is convincing yourself to stay strong and keep pushing during a hard race [when] everything is tired.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/POPE-300x201.jpg)
