9:32 am, start of 3rd period.
A loud gunshot was heard
throughout
the halls of
my high school.
Immediately
the principal came over the speaker,
we were in lockdown.
A fifteen year old sophomore boy
walked the halls with a
loaded .40 caliber gun...
1,400 students sat in complete silence,
in the corner of each classroom.
Blinds drawn.
Lights out.
Doors locked.
Again a gunshot was heard
throughout the entire school.
Then you could begin to hear him walk down the hall, trying each doorknob,
Looking for an unlocked door.
We were all
fearful,
anxious,
and frightened of what was going to happen.
Silence was then heard for what seemed like an eternity.
Scared for our lives.
Then came the sounds of sirens,
helicopters
and movement outside our classroom windows.
A sense of relief.
You could hear Swat team members
begin to run through the halls.
Police officers were outside
surrounding our school
with guns drawn.
The Gunman was finally convinced to surrender.
Swat members came class to class
with their guns and escorted us out.
Told us to not make any abrupt movements or sounds.
Frightened by the traumatic
incident that just took place
and also by the 30 swat members
with machine guns drawn,
we all silently walked out of our high school.
and were reunited with our families.
Guns put a fear in every person
that was involved that day.
There are pros and cons to guns.
Some positive effects of guns are:
they keep law enforcement safe
and are a form of protection.
They can also be used for
hunting purposes.
Some negative effects are:
the fact that they can
be used as a
domestic violence weapon.
and can take the life
of another human being.
They can also inflict pain,
Fear
and injury
on an individual,that they will have to
take with them for the
rest of their life.
I faced the fear of guns
on
September 2, 2008.
September 2, 2008
and 31 rounds of ammunition.