by Maddie Levans
On the morning of October 2, the world was greeted with news of a terror attack that had happened at an outdoor concert on the Vegas Strip.
Over 50 people are confirmed dead, with more than 500 injured. The attack has claimed the number one spot on the list of deadliest mass shootings in modern US history. The previous first place holder was the mass shooting that occurred at Pulse nightclub in Orlando, Florida. Both attacks took place a little over a year apart, which has sparked outrage in Congress, causing congressional leaders to begin pushing legislation towards stricter methods of gun control.
The difference between the Pulse shooting and the Vegas shooting are clear: Pulse was a direct attack on the Latino LGBT community, whereas the motives behind why the Vegas shooter began his shooting spree are unknown. Those close to the shooter, including his girlfriend Marilou Danley, did not know about his plans to execute the attack. Authorities have discovered that this was not the shooter’s first planned attack, and that he did book a hotel room overlooking Lollapalooza music festival in August of this year.
Via Twitter, Taleb Keeter, main guitarist of the Josh Abbott Band, expressed his regrets for previously supporting the Second Amendment, tweeting: “Until the events of last night. I cannot express how wrong I was.” Gun advocate groups, such as the NRA, have offered little to no comment on the situation at hand, which has created backlash.
Members of Congress have begun to debate the future of gun control, including minority leader Nancy Pelosi. In a letter addressed to House Speaker Paul Ryan, Pelosi calls upon Ryan to create a congressional committee on gun control, as well as the adoption of the King-Thompson bill, a bipartisan piece of legislation requiring stricter background checks on those intent on purchasing guns. During an interview on the subject, President Trump called what happened in Las Vegas “a miracle” due to the efficiency of the LVPD.
Students at York Suburban are torn over the issue. Senior Alex Patterson said that he is deeply saddened over the issue, saying that the shooter’s access to weapons was a main factor in how he was able to do so much damage. “We need more investigative background checks,” he said, “if someone buys a lot of weapons in a short time period, like Paddock, red flags should be raised and the government should make sure that person isn’t planning something big.”
Isobel Smith, Senior, also called the massacre deeply saddening, calling the gunman a “sick man.” She went on to say that she does not know if the shooting could have been prevented, “he passed background checks and there was no worry from anyone he was close with.”