by Karen Boniface
May 25, 2022
I could not sleep last night after learning of the tragedy in Texas. Schools should be safe places for students to learn and grow, not scenes of slaughter and suicide.
I had to process what’s happening in our schools and express my profound grief as a concerned educator. This madness needs to stop!
My numbers may not be 100% accurate. It was sometimes difficult to interpret statistics in the articles I consulted. I included among the casualty counts the shooters and non-school-related people who perished. Please forgive any unintentional mistakes. In no way do I wish to dishonor those who suffered and those who died.
The Pall over our Land:
Again at Half-Mast for Massacre
lament composed in the wake of the South Texas school shooting tsunami May 24, 2022
We toll the bell
for all who fell
to hurt and hate.
We lift our prayers
for all those wounded,
for those terrorized and in shock.
We send our love
into the evil, our hope
into the darkness.
We mourn those murdered,
who were torn from us,
whose lives were snuffed short.
We ache for those maimed
in bodies, which bear scars,
in minds and hearts, which bear scars.
We scream at the injustice,
at the slaughter of the innocents,
at the silence of those who knew.
We console those bereaved
of children, of parents,
of sisters and brothers and friends.
We cry for children afraid to go to school.
We cry for parents with broken hearts.
We cry for a nation in shock.
We weep.
We wail.
We shed our tears.
Despairing tears
that these tragedies occur
sadly, suddenly, secretively.
Disbelieving tears
that these tragedies continue
without an end in sight.
Angry tears
that no one stops these tragedies –
government, schools, families fail us.
Angry tears
that these tragedies are politicized
into a debate over gun control.
Sorrowful tears
that these tragedies devastate
families and friends, hopes and dreams.
Fearful tears
that these tragedies predict
future failure to keep our students safe.
Mass school shooting #1
South Pasadena High School
May 6, 1940
The shooter was a 38-year-old troubled teacher fearful of losing his job.
5 dead.
1 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #2.
University of Texas, Austin
August 1, 1966
The shooter was a former serviceman who had joined the Marines to escape a domineering, explosive father, and who had documented his feelings of rage, confusion, and violent impulses.
15 dead.
31 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #3
California State University, Fullerton
July 12, 1976.
The shooter was a 37-year-old custodian with a lengthy history of mental problems, a dishonorable discharge from the Army, and a record of multiple job losses because of fights with coworkers.
7 dead.
2 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #4
Cleveland Elementary School
January 17, 1989
The shooter was a 24-year-old unemployed drifter, who was an addict with emotional problems.
6 dead.
32 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #5
University of Iowa, Iowa City
November 1, 1991.
The shooter was a 28-year-old former graduate student, angry and jealous, who had written a slew of letters outlining his grievances and identifying the people who caused them.
5 killed.
1 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #6
Lindhurst High School
May 1, 1992
The shooter was a 20-year-old former student frustrated by a breakup with his girlfriend and a layoff from his job.
4 dead.
10 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #7
Rose-Mar College of Beauty
November 12, 1996
The shooter was a high-school senior who wanted to carve out a name for himself.
7 dead.
2 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #8
Westside Middle School
March 24, 1998.
The shooters were an 11- and a 13-year-old, bullies who displayed some signs of other troublesome behavior.
5 dead.
10 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #9
Thurston High School
May 21, 1998
The shooter was a 15-year-old whose teacher parents hid a family history of serious mental illness.
6 dead.
23 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #10
Columbine High School
April 20, 1999
The shooters were a duo of inseparable seniors with undiagnosed psychiatric problems.
14 dead.
21 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #11
University of Arizona, Tucson
October 28, 2002
The shooter was a 40-year-old Gulf-War veteran and failing college student.
4 dead.
0 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #12
Red Lake Senior High School
March 21, 2005
The shooter was a bullied 16-year-old who twice tried to commit suicide.
18 dead.
7 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #13
West Nickle Mines School
October 2, 2006
The shooter was a 32-year-old truck driver who’d left his wife 4 separate suicide notes.
6 dead.
5 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #14
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg
April 16, 2007
The shooter was a 23-year-old student with severe anxiety, selective mutism, and major depression.
33 dead.
12 wounded
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #15
Northern Illinois University, DeKalb
February 14, 2008
The shooter was a 27-year-old diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder as a teenager.
6 dead.
21 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #16
Sandy Hook Elementary School
December 14, 2012
The shooter was a 20-year-old with a history of Asperger syndrome and intense anxiety.
28 dead.
2 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #17
Oikos University
April 2, 2012
The shooter was a 43-year-old angry student with disciplinary problems and a diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia.
7 dead.
3 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #18
Santa Monica College
June 7, 2013
The shooter was a 23-year-old former student, child of a broken and abusive home, with a fascination for weapons and a history of repeated threats of violence.
6 dead.
4 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #19
Marysville Pilchuck High School
October 24, 2014
The shooter was a 15-year-old freshman suspended after a fight with another student using racial slurs.
5 dead.
6 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #20
Umpqua Community College
October 1, 2015
The shooter was a 26-year-old graduate of a school for teens with learning disabilities and emotional issues,
10 dead.
9 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #21
Rancho Tehama Elementary School
November 14, 2017
The shooter was a 43-year-old with a history of mental illness, anger-management issues, and obsession with conspiracy theories.
6 dead.
1 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #22
Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
February 14, 2018
The shooter was a 19-year-old with a history of behavioral issues, depression, and alleged threats against students.
17 dead.
17 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #23
Santa Fe High School
May 18, 2018
The shooter was a 17-year-old who planned and advertised his intensions but somehow slipped through the cracks.
10 dead.
13 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass school shooting #24
Oxford High School
November 30, 2021
The shooter was a 15-year-old sophomore whose parents bought him a gun and did not prevent his access to it despite their knowledge of his violent drawings of people having been shot.
5 dead.
8 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
Mass School Shooting #25
Robb Elementary School
May 24, 2022
The shooter was an 18-year-old who, having purchased two military-style rifles for his birthday, posted on social media that “kids should watch out.”
21 dead.
18 or more wounded
Countless afflicted.
All told, the total is crushing –
victims are more than
numbers that score our souls.
256 dead.
259 wounded.
Countless afflicted.
We pray for the souls of the slain.
We pray for those who mourn.
We pray for those who perpetrate violence.
We pray against more hate and hurt.
We pray against demons of darkness.
We pray against a #26.
God deliver us from evil.
God return us to righteousness.
God heal our broken land.
