Another child student has somehow managed to get a lethal weapon into a school in Georgia, but this time only shot herself rather than their entire class.
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A code red rang through Lindley Middle School signaling an immediate threat within the building. Students, ready for the worst, locked the classroom door and huddled at the back of the room. As Max Oquendo, a 14-year-old student, recalls, they were left waiting for what was coming.
He recalls hearing a gunshot and then screaming coming from a nearby classroom. With the amount of school shootings in the US every year, they were expecting a gunman to come to them. "Every single noise, we don't know if it's going to be a gunman walking into us and that would be it," he recalled.
For 90 minutes the students were left wondering whether this would be their last day or not. But, it transpired that the single shot was it. Instead of a rampage, a young female student pulled out a gun and shot herself in the middle of her class.
Student Left In Critical Condition After Attempted Suicide
This tragic event was clearly an act of desperation by another child able to get their hands on a lethal weapon. The student decided to shoot herself in the middle of her class. Thankfully, she didn't die on the scene but is in critical condition.
Despite choosing to only self-harm, the trauma inflicted on her classmates will be lasting. Watching someone attempt suicide as a child will be something that stays with her classmates for the rest of their lives.
Max Oquendo, a fellow student, talks about the trauma he has already been left with after his schoolmate shot herself. He said they had to wait for an hour and a half, not knowing what would happen to them. "There's just screaming and screaming coming from the hallway," he recalled.
The student was able to bring a gun into school and shoot herself. This is just another case of a child in the US having unrestricted access to a lethal weapon. These kinds of situations happen in the US more than any other country in the world. Little is being done to stop it.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health or thinking about self harm, please know that help is available. Visit https://988lifeline.org/ or call 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
