Mass Shooting at Kentucky High School

Mass+Shooting+at+Kentucky+High+School

On January 23, 2018, a fifteen-year-old student opened fire on students at Marshall County High School, in Benton, Kentucky, killing two fellow classmates and injuring eighteen others. The victims killed were identified as fifteen-year-old Bailey Nicole Holt and fifteen-year-old Preston Ryan Cope.

During the shooting, Holt’s mother claimed her daughter had contacted them, but “could not tell them anything,” minutes before the active shooter killed her. Holt died at the scene while Cope died at the hospital. “What happened to Bailey and Preston is really tragic,” says Senior Brittany Staton. “When I hear this news I just want to cry. I couldn’t imagine what went through her and her mom’s mind during the short phone call that ended in tragedy.”

Hundreds of students fled for their lives, some jumping into cars or running across fields and others out of the sight as they reached establishments such as McDonald’s which was more than a mile away from the school. Chaos continued to reign at the school with frantic parents rushing to find their children while evading many students still fleeing to safety. Since the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in December of 2012, there have been 74 school shootings. This attack will mark the year’s first school shooting, only days into the promising 2018. “School shootings make no sense,” expressed Senior Brooklyn Walker. “Why kill innocent people and change their lives forever?”

One eyewitness claims the gunman continued to fire at students until he ran out of ammunition and took off running, trying to get away from police. Although, his escape was in vain, as police arrested Park moments later, leading the young fifteen-year-old away in handcuffs. The gunman will be charged with murder and attempted murder. Authorities have not released any details considering a possible motive or the name of the fifteen-year-old shooter.