Throughout the history of the United States, acts of violence at schools have captured the attention and hearts of many. In recent years particularly, incidents such as school shootings have become less rare. Unfortunate and unnecessary as these instances are, it is almost like it’s a fad to shoot a student. 
It’s sobering to dwell on the younger generations are growing up in fear of violence breaking out at their high schools.
Not three months into the new year and America is mourning at least two major atrocities which have taken place in its school systems. This, of course, refers to the Marshall County High School shooting in Kentucky in late January and the shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida.
These two alone have resulted in at least 19 deaths and many injuries. Though these are a few of the most highlighted incidents in the media, they are not the only U.S. school shootings to have already taken place in 2018.
These shootings are part of the heated and ongoing gun control debate, but they are more than that. They really aren’t acts of assassins or trained terrorists. Most of these terrible crimes are being carried out by none other than high school students themselves. With tensions rising in these times, school systems across the nation are trying to take precautions.
Despite positive steps being taken to prevent any future outbursts of violence, weapons or weapon-like toys have been secretly brought into public schools. A prompt and 
disturbingly close-to-home example of this sort of thing was seen on Wednesday, February 21.
That morning, Rochelle Township High School on East Flagg Road announced a “soft lock-down.” According to Nexstar Broadcasting, it had been prompted by the presence of a gun reported to have been kept in one of the lockers. Town police officers were notified and visited the school. They discovered the alleged firearm which turned out to be BB gun. The school stated students were in no danger at all. Two boys were taken into custody.
One problem we have seen in recent years is that BB guns can easily be mistaken for genuine firearms. Though only a BB shooter, it could have just as easily been a legitimate gun. Then the students and staff would have been in danger. Instances like these deserve our attention, not our dismissal.
Editor’s Note: The featured and first pictures of Rockford Schools of this piece was by Roger Wollstadt and is under the CC BY-SA 2.0 License. The lower picture of Rochelle Township High School is under Public Domain.
