Thus far in 2025 alone, there have been 327 mass shootings–incidences in which one or more people are active in attempting to kill others in a populated area–in America. In 2025 alone, 11,171 people were shot and killed, excluding suicides. Of those 11,171 killed, 942 were children and teens. These statistics should be horrifying. They should be shocking and heartbreaking, in part because they should be new information. These statistics should be new information, because if they aren’t, if this is something we all know about, the world we all know we live in, how can it still be allowed to happen?

The thing is, though, you don’t need me to point out these numbers to you to know the reach and effect of gun violence in America. Especially as high school students, we don’t need numbers like this to make us aware that this is an issue. We often need only the fear we’ve all felt: the kind of bigger-than-you, deep down in your soul fear that tells us something is deeply and massively wrong. We know what it’s like to wake up, check our phones and see that there’s been a school shooting threat in our area. We also know what it’s like to see it and feel normal. Feel normal alongside the possibility of mass violence and death, because for us, it is normal. For us, going to school that day, pushing through the fear you’ve felt hundreds of times over, is just what we do. This is normal, because in America, school shooting threats are constant and school shootings are only often. And the kids have to get to school some way, don’t they?

In 2025, there have been 146 incidents of gun violence at K-12 schools across America. Due to differences in categorizing what counts as a school shooting, Aljazeera states that eight of these incidents resulted in injuries or death, while with a broader definition of school shootings, EducationWeek states that 11 of these school shootings have caused injuries or death. In the context of that broader definition, that’s one for every single month so far, plus one.

Now, inside of every one of these big statistics lies an individual and important story of gun violence. In every one of these stories, multiple people all with their own lives, aspirations, families and humanity were injured or killed. Furthermore, the amount of people affected mentally outside of bodily harm due to these events is innumerable.

A couple of specific and popularly-known incidents happened on Sept. 10. One of these was at Evergreen High School in Evergreen, Colorado and the other at the Losee Center at Utah Valley University. At Evergreen High School, two students were shot by a 16-year-old peer and left in critical and serious condition respectively. At Utah Valley University, well-known conservative influencer Charlie Kirk was shot and killed, allegedly by a 22-year-old white man.

These shootings may be well-known, but they are simply a microcosm that understates the extent of gun violence in America. They are two of thousands. These shootings happened in two different places, with two different shooters of a wide age gap, to two entirely different kinds of victims. In one, a minor shot at his underage peers. In the other, a grown man allegedly shot and killed Kirk, someone who advocated for gun use in America and who said on April 5, 2023, “I think it’s worth it. I think it’s worth it to have a cost of, unfortunately, some gun deaths every single year so that we can have the Second Amendment to protect our other God-given rights.”

The point is this: gun violence can affect anyone, from any age, gender, political standing, belief system or walk of life. Gun violence does not care who you are, what you think, or how much life you have left to live- it is simply the product of a broken system upheld by outdated principles.

So, at this point, what is there left to do? In an America already so full of division, hatred and violence, is there anything we can offer to help?

Yes. We can and must help; there is an enormity of things to be done, and the overwhelming amount of gun violence should only serve to fuel our need to do it. In so far as governmental sway, an important first step can be contacting your senators and representatives. Call them, e-mail them, text them if you can, and tell them that we need gun reform in America. Tell them that we need them to take action on both the state and federal level to reduce gun violence. Know that your voice is one that makes up thousands, and these thousands are the people who are dedicated to making our country a safer one.

You can find the full list of current Pennsylvania representatives at: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/members/PA#google_vignette

Monetarily and organizationally, there are multiple organizations you can donate to that aim to decrease gun violence in America, some being:

• Everytown for Gun Safety at https://www.everytown.org/
• Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence at https://www.bradyunited.org/
• States United to Prevent Gun Violence at https://supgv.org/
• Moms Demand Action at https://momsdemandaction.org/
• March for Our Lives at https://impact.marchforourlives.com/

If nothing else, the most important thing you can remember is that you are not alone in caring, and you are not alone in taking action. There are people working alongside us every day to pass gun reform laws, aid in the physical and mental treatment of those affected by gun violence and be a voice in the community that moves our government towards a more compassionate, safer and acceptable future. When something is so inherently wrong, we all have to care and we all must have the responsibility of doing something about it.