Oxford High School, I am completely heartbroken for you. I am heartbroken for those who were in the school at the time, including all students, teachers and staff. I can’t imagine the terror on the parent’s faces while they received a call from their child, the school or the police department. I just can’t imagine any of it. It’s saddening, every single bit of what happened to those who were at Oxford High School. 

Ethan Crumbley, a 15-year-old who attended Oxford High School has been charged as an adult with at least two dozen crimes, including murder, attempted murder and terrorism for the shooting that tragically happened on Tuesday, Nov. 30. 

Crumbley killed four students and injured seven, including a teacher, according to BBC news. Those who passed included Tate Myre, 16, Madisyn Baldwin, 17, Hana St. Juliana and Justin Shilling, 17. This shouldn’t have happened. These innocent students were so young and had so much to look forward to. 

Tate Myre, who has been in many Instagram users’ stories, died in a local deputy’s care before the officer could get him to the hospital, BBC said. Tate was a junior and a talented athlete who had dreams of football after high school. 

According to CBS, Tate Myre had said, “I have been in love with football since I was young and always dreamed of playing college football. If I play college football I will be the hardest worker on the field and no matter the situation in the game I will give all my effort.” Dreams taken away too soon. 

BBC says 32,000 people have signed an online petition to rename the school’s stadium after Tate. I am going to have to go sign this petition; those whose lives have been lost need to be remembered. 

Crumbley should be in prison for the rest of his life. On Tuesday, Nov. 30, police first received calls from the town of Oxford at 12:51 p.m., and within minutes, more than 100 calls had been placed to emergency services. 

Police believe that Crumbly carried the weapon to school in his backpack and emerged from the bathroom brandishing the gun, wrote BBC. Along with this, investigators say that Crumbley’s father legally purchased a semi-automatic gun last week. In Michigan, there is no law that requires gun owners to keep weapons locked away from children. Karen McDonald, Oakland County prosecutor suggested that there is more to build a case on and that the, “…gun seems to have been just freely available to that individual,” from ABC news. 

Why did these parents have the gun out in the first place? Why didn’t these parents realize, “Oh no, where did my gun go? I know I left it in this place but it seems to be gone.” I don’t understand. Children should not have access to guns and lawmakers need to change this. 

Having a semi-automatic gun available to a minor in the house should not be an option. If people are going to own guns — no matter what state they live in, they need to be stored safely and cannot be accessible to everyone and anyone. Imagine how many scenarios could have been avoided by doing this? 

I believe that if children, or minors in general, want to use a gun to go hunting, they can do that. But as long as the gun comes out of the safe, the minor has had gun safety and gets locked in the safe afterward — it is OK. So many people have a passion for hunting, so I’m not saying get rid of all guns. What I am saying is that there need to be safety requirements when it comes to owning and using a gun. 

There should never be a gun sitting around in someone’s house. It should be kept in a safe place that is locked away. I think this situation would have been completely different if the gun was not “freely available to the individual.” Parents need to understand this. Parents need to talk to their children about gun safety. 

I wonder if Crumbleys’ parents will be charged for this tragic event, I am hoping so. Therefore they will learn their lesson about gun safety and so will many other people who are following up on this case. 

Oakland County Sheriff, Mike Bouchard, told BBC that investigators were at a loss to explain what might have precipitated an “unspeakable and unforgivable” act of violence. I cannot imagine how the students that attend Oxford High School are feeling right now, same with their parents, teachers and staff. I can’t imagine being a police officer and running to the scene in an attempt to save these incident students. Bravery. Pain. Anger. 

My heart is hurting for everyone who was impacted by the shooting that happened on a mid-Tuesday in November at Oxford High School — right before the holidays. It is heartbreaking. May we and lawmakers realize that laws need to be changed, guns need to be stored safely and locked away. Children need to be educated about gun safety and know what to do if they see something that looks unsafe. 

We need change and those at Oxford High School need support and hugs.