![Walking through the tunnel created by the cheerleaders and Celebrities, senior Frances Tran smiles as the soccer team is sent off during DEN for their playoff game against Rouse tonight. Tran said the wins against Smithson Valley and Alamo Heights gave the team a morale boost to take on the Raiders tonight. “I know we were not 100% confident in those games,” Tran said. “But, Rouse is a big opponent for sure. We’re definitely going into tonight with a lot of morale [because of the previous wins].”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/frances-tran.jpg)
![Holding a bucket of materials in one hand and a roll of tape in another, anatomy and biology teacher Tyler Terry prepares for a lab. Terry said his proudest moments are when his students are happy to see him. “When I take my wife to a football game or something and a bunch of students want to say hi to me or they like to smile and wave and it just makes me feel good that the students are really kind and supportive of me,” Terry said. “[I’m also] proud when I see students perform really well in their extracurriculars because I can see how hard they’re working in my classes, [so] when I see that they’re also working so hard in other things. Like they’re winning band competitions or they’re getting awards for their theater productions, or I see them put on their choir shows, that’s like, wow, you guys are incredible.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Rags-6.png)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901.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.
![Holding her dog, Nova, senior Ariana Balakrishnan poses for her senior pictures while Nova wears a bandana with her college decision. Balakrishnan applied to 18 colleges in total, but she decided on Columbia in the end. “Right before I clicked the button to open Columbia’s letter, I literally looked at the camera and go ‘This is just gonna really suck because I wanted it so bad,’ and I clicked it and all of a sudden you hear trumpets,” Balakrishnan said. “There’s a video that plays when you open it and I actually didn’t watch the video, I just watched the screen go black, because every day of December before ED [Early Decision] I would go on YouTube and watch the acceptance video to manifest it, so immediately when the screen went black, I started screaming and jumping up and down. And my parents in the video are like ‘What are you doing, where’s the letter,’ and I was just screaming ‘I got in, I got in.” I just started crying, and it just felt like everything in the world came together.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/ariana-2-300x217.jpg)
![Catching a ball, junior Alivia Robinson plays at the Cedar Park vs Glenn game. Having played since she was 5 years old, she is dedicated to softball and has committed to UTPB for softball. “When I got my offer it took me a very long time to decide where,” Robinson said. “Softball has always been my dream for college, and UTPB is my fit. When [I committed] I knew I was going to be loved and supported.”](https://cphswolfpack.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Lilly-Adams-3.13aliviaedit-901-600x400.jpg)
