Parental Wisdom® by Tina Nocera

Time heals what reason cannot. – Seneca

We felt the same numbness in the days following 9/11.

Families looking for their children were a reminder of the families looking for loved ones in the post 9/11 days where pictures and names were posted. At that time, postings were on walls surrounding Ground Zero, in local hospitals, churches and make shift memorials.

Yesterday, names were posted on newly posted websites sharing whatever information they could. Some read names of those missing, while others were listed under the category ‘OK’ and sadly there were posts of those deceased.

The frightening events of those moments were captured in a student’s cell cam video where we can hear the chilling sounds of bullets being fired.

Where and when will our children be safe?

For now, our prayers go to the victims’ families and friends and we hope the long process of healing can begin. More than anything, let’s pray these awful stories end.

May 18, 1927

Bath, Mich.: Andrew Kehoe, a school board official, kills his wife, then blows up the town’s school, killing more than 40 people, including himself.

Aug. 1, 1966

Austin, Tex.: Charles J. Whitman kills 16 and injures 31 from atop the University of Texas tower.

Jan. 16, 1979

San Diego, Calif.: Brenda Spencer, 16, waits outside the Cleveland Elementary School for the principal to open the school. For 20 minutes, she fired on arriving students and teachers. She killed the principal and school caretaker, and injured nine students between the ages of 6 and 12. She then went home and waited for police to arrive. “. . . I just did it for the fun of it. . . . ,” Spencer told police. She was convicted on two counts of murder and is serving two 25-to-life sentences.

Dec. 1, 1997

West Paducah, Ky.: Michael Carneal, 14, fatally shoots three classmates and wounds five at a high school prayer meeting.

May 20, 1988

Winnetka, Ill.: A mentally ill woman named Laurie Dann steps into a second-grade classroom with two handguns and opens fire, killing a child and wounding five others. Dann flees the school and later kills herself.

Feb. 2 1996

Moses Lake, Wash.: Barry Loukaitis, 14, walks into algebra class at a junior high school and opens fire with a hunting rifle. The teacher and two students are killed, and one student is wounded. He is convicted in 1997 of two counts of aggravated first-degree murder and sentenced to two life terms without parole.

Oct. 1, 1997

Pearl, Miss.: Luke Woodham, 16, stabs his mother to death before going to Pearl High School and shooting nine students. Two die, including Woodham’s ex-girlfriend; seven others are wounded. Woodham is convicted as an adult in June 1998. He is serving three life sentences.

Dec. 1, 1997

West Paducah, Ky.: Three students are killed and five wounded while praying in a school hallway. A 14-year-old, Michael Carneal, is arrested and pleads guilty but mentally ill to three counts of murder and six other charges related to the shootings. He was sentenced Dec. 17 to life in prison without possibility of parole for 25 years.

March 24, 1998

Jonesboro, Ark.: A 13-year-old boy and his 11-year-old cousin open fire outside a middle school, killing four girls and a teacher and injuring 11 others.

April 24, 1998

Edinboro, Pa.: Andrew Wurst, 14, is arrested for shooting to death science teacher John Gillette in front of students at a middle school graduation dance. Two 14-year-old boys are wounded. Wurst will be tried as an adult.

May 19, 1998

Fayetteville, Tenn.: Jacob Davis, an 18-year-old honor student, fatally shoots a classmate in the school’s parking lot. The victim was dating his ex-girlfriend. Davis awaits trial.

May 21, 1998

Springfield, Ore.: Kip Kinkel, 15, fatally shoots four and wounds dozens after being suspended a day earlier for bringing a gun to school.

June 15, 1998

Richmond, Va.: Quinshawn Booker, a 14-year-old student who is angry at a classmate, opens fire in a crowded high school hallway, wounding a 45-year-old social studies teacher and a 74-year-old Head Start volunteer. Booker pleads guilty to five charges and will remain at a school for troubled boys until he completes its program.

April 20, 1999

Near Littleton, Colo.: After planning for a year, Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, kill 12 students and a teacher and wound dozens before killing themselves at Columbine High School.

March 21, 2005

Red Lake, Minn.: On an Indian reservation, Jeff Weise, 16, kills his grandfather and a companion, five fellow students, a teacher and a security guard before killing himself.

Aug. 24, 2006

Essex, Vt.:2 Dead In Vermont School Shooting Police: Elementary School Teacher Possibly Killed; 4 Others Injured

Oct. 2, 2006

Nickel Mines, Pa.: Charles C. Roberts IV, 32, shoots 11 girls execution-style at an Amish school, killing four of them and wounding seven.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, April 17th, 2007 at 1:17 pm and is filed under About Parental Wisdom, Empathy, Safety. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.