No child should have to live in fear

The Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, last year, on December 14^th, 2012, is still affecting people all over the United States. However, the people of Newtown are suffering the most. “Fear permeates young lives of Newtown witnesses”, a title of an article on news.msn.com, says it all.

This article can be found here: http://news.msn.com/us/fear-permeates-young-lives-of-newtown-witnesses

This article describes families with children who witnessed the shooting in their school, and in their classrooms, at Sandy Hook Elementary School, on that day. This day was just a normal school day until the school went on lockdown due to a gunman. This gunman was Adam Lanza. On December 14^th, 2012, Adam Lanza was responsible for 28 deaths and so much more fear. On that day Adam Lanza killed his mother, six of Sandy Hook’s educators, twenty Sandy Hook students, and himself.

This is sick. And as if 28 deaths weren’t enough, numerous six and seven year old students now are scared of voices on intercoms, just because they heard an intercom to go on lockdown on December 14^th, 2012. That’s not all that scares these kids. Many saw the first grade teacher they loved, or the principal they loved, or their best friend be shot. And now the rest of their lives they will live with this picture in their minds. My heart aches for these kids, and the families who lost someone they loved very much.

Many of these children are in therapy and just trying to cope. The new school, they now attend, has signs up that ask people to close doors softly, and don’t drag things in the hallways, because the slightest thing could scare these children.

This is ridiculous; no child should be scared of the sound of an intercom or should feel unsafe at their school. School is supposed to be a happy and safe place. Adam Lanza ruined this.

Children, who lost their friends, often question their parents if their friends will ever be back, according to the article on news.msn.com. Their parents are just trying to cope and be thankful their children are still alive, however they ache knowing their children live in fear. One parent in the article stats, “ ‘We talk about Heaven, he knows they’re there.’ ”

My heart and prayers go out to everyone affected by this tragedy. If we can give even a smallest glimmer of hope to this tragedy it is in that school systems around the nation have updated their security procedures in order to try to prevent a tragedy like this again.

Rest In Peace Sandy Hook Angels. Gone but never forgotten.