There were lots of questions that were asked in the aftermath of the tragic, senseless school shooting that took place at Apalachee High School on Wednesday.

Some of those immediate questions got answers. Four people, two students and two teachers, were shot dead. One of which was an autistic child while another was the defensive coordinator for a team that is in the same region as Alcovy High School. Nine others were injured, including a former coach in Walton County where our sister paper is located.

As far as the perpetrator, it was a 14-year-old who had previously been in the watch of the FBI for reportedly making threats online about possibly committing a school shooting just one month ago. We also know that the 14-year-old used an assault rifle style weapon in the shooting.

There are some immediate questions that we don’t know the answer to yet. What’s the motive behind the shooting? How did the teen get the weapon inside? Questions like that should see an answer in the imminent future.

But here’s the question I want an answer to. When is enough, enough?

It was days like Wednesday that reminded me that as sad as these mass shootings are, they keep happening. Why? Because in part, they have been normalized.

At 23 years old, I have grown accustomed to hearing about mass shooting after mass shooting after mass shooting. I pretty much grew up in it. It’s almost like a blurb you come to expect in the news every so often. 

I actually remember coming home from school one day in 2018 to the news of a mass shooting that happened at a school. The reason why I say “a school” is because there have been so many that have happened over the last few years, I honestly can’t even remember what school it was.

Isn’t that sad?

But as I sat in my office yesterday, horrified and emotional as to what I was watching on the news, I couldn’t help but think that this is one that I won’t forget, mainly because it hit too close to home.

This was just 40 miles away from Newton County, but also just hours away from places where my family members teach.

My mother. My brother. My sister-in-law. My first cousin. All of them currently work in the school system in some capacity. What if this happened to them?

Think about your families, and your family members that work in the school system. What if this happened to them?

That’s the question we need to be asking when coming up with solutions to this epidemic of school shootings in the U.S., because folks, it’s getting way too close to home.

I think the immediate solution seems obvious here, and that is gun control – specifically the banning of assault rifles. I say it seems obvious, because it’s the most logical thing to think of, but it’s a quiet part that doesn’t often want to be said out loud.

My cousin, who leans conservative and that I’ve had plenty of political disagreements with over the years, said this on Facebook about yesterday’s events.

“As I’ve stated numerous times, there is no reason any civilian should own a military grade weapon. You can be pro 2nd amendment like myself and think it’s absurd that an individual can own an AR style weapon. News flash. That 2nd amendment was written when people were shooting muskets that took minutes to load and were inaccurate more times than not.”

I couldn’t have said this any better myself. There’s no sense in having AR-styled weapons at the civilian level. Get rid of them.

I don’t think this is the only solution though. I think an increased effort on mental health resources – an epidemic in its own right in this country – should be looked at as well. As someone who has had mental health struggles my whole life, I understand the need to have a more concentrated effort on helping our youth navigate any issues they may be facing.

It is vital that mental health resources are at the forefront of accessibility so that our youth can utilize them.

I also think increased security is a must. I also saw on Facebook this statement: “Schools should be guarded like banks because kids are more important than money.” Spot on if you ask me.

And I also believe that increased security includes measures at the individual school level. This could include metal detectors, increased officers, clear bag policies etc… This should be decided at the individual school level to best fit the needs of the district.

All of these things need consideration and implementation. Because without it, we’ll be right back at this same spot in three months. That’s not pessimism, it’s the hard truth.

So I ask you all to ask this question: When is enough, enough?

Evan Newton is the news editor at The Covington News. He can be reached at enewton@covnews.com.

All views and opinions expressed in the opinion section are those of the author and do not represent the stance or opinions of The Covington News.