Parkland Students Give Moving Responses to Texas Shooting
"We cannot let this continue to be the norm,” said Parkland survivor Delaney Tarr. “We cannot."
Hannah Harrison carries roses during a prayer vigil following a deadly shooting at Santa Fe High School in Santa Fe, Texas. (David J. Phillip / AP)
After 10 people were fatally shot Friday at Santa Fe High School in Texas, students from Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla.—among them the student survivors of the mass shooting there in February—reacted with grief and continued calls to fight for sensible gun control in America.
At least 8 students have been shot and killed at Santa Fe High School.
Prepare to watch the NRA boast about getting higher donations.
Prepare to see students rise up and be called ‘civil terrorists’ and crisis actors.
Prepare for the right-wing media to attack the survivors.
— Cameron Kasky (@cameron_kasky) May 18, 2018
Some of the Parkland students who survived the February massacre, in which 17 people were killed, have since become prominent voices in gun reform advocacy. They have released a policy platform, appeared on the cover of Time and founded March for Our Lives, a massive nationwide anti-gun violence protest.
“I should be celebrating my last day of high school, but instead my heart is broken to hear of the tragedy at Santa Fe,” Delaney Tarr, a senior at Stoneman Douglas, wrote on Twitter.
I should be celebrating my last day of high school, but instead my heart is broken to hear of the tragedy at Santa Fe. We cannot let this continue to be the norm. We cannot.
— Delaney Tarr (@delaneytarr) May 18, 2018
“Santa Fe High, you didn’t deserve this,” wrote Emma Gonzales, a Parkland survivor who has been a leading voice in calling for gun control. “You deserve peace all your lives, not just after a tombstone saying that is put over you. You deserve more than Thoughts and Prayers, and after supporting us by walking out we will be there to support you by raising up your voices.”
Santa Fe High, you didn’t deserve this. You deserve peace all your lives, not just after a tombstone saying that is put over you. You deserve more than Thoughts and Prayers, and after supporting us by walking out we will be there to support you by raising up your voices.
— Emma González (@Emma4Change) May 18, 2018
Indeed, Texas Republican Sen. John Cornyn said exactly that after the shooting, according to CNN: “Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those injured and killed.” But in a statement on Twitter, Dallas Mayor Mike Rawlings told Congress to “spare us your thoughts and prayers and do your job.”
Other Parkland students tweeted:
To everyone at Santa Fe high school ,I hope youre safe, I’m so sorry this is happening, and I’m so sorry that it continues to https://t.co/zLRbrizYiD one should be in the situation that youre all currently in. Im not going to say thoughts and prayers but instead policy and action
— Sarah Chadwick (@Sarahchadwickk) May 18, 2018
Your support matters…Hoping things get better. Hoping things can change. Don’t tell me that there isn’t a shooting problem in this country. The perpetuating gun violence we face is ridiculous. https://t.co/dHeXH5Fo9B
— Alex Wind (@al3xw1nd) May 18, 2018
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