As of May 25, 21 lives have been taken in Uvalde, Texas. Robb Elementary School, a place for learning and development, when walking in, kids would usually be elated and inspired to start their day.

However as the sun rises on Wednesday the 25, even the sight of the school imposes grief, and uncertainty, on this day, anyone walking by the site of this horrific attack is petrified. 

According to the Oxford Dictionary, the definition of morality is “principles concerning the distinction between right and wrong or good and bad behavior.” 

When morality is abandoned, nothing is safe, humans are not safe. 18-year-old Salvador Ramos abandoned his morality when he “began shooting anyone that was in his way,” according to Uvalde officials.

People all over the nation and the world woke up in disbelief. As school shootings become a horrifyingly common occurrence, the world had assumed that authorities would be more equipped to stop them.

According to CNN, Ramos had been in contact with an unidentified girl over Instagram, he tagged her in a photo with his guns. When she responded, she asked, “what your guns gotta do with me?” Ramos soon responded with, “Be grateful I tagged you.” 

The girl posted the direct message screenshots on an account in which she did not include her name.

She said, “The only reason I responded to him was because I was afraid of him, I wish I stayed awake to at least try to convince him to not commit his crime.”

According to Texas State Senator, John Whitmire, Ramos used 2 “AR platform rifles.” He brought about 7, 30 round magazines. His pick-up truck was found crashed near the school.

Nevaeh Alyssa Bravo, 10; Jacklyn Cazares, 9; Makenna Lee Elrod, 10; Jose Manuel Flores Jr., 10; Eliahna Garcia, 10; Irma Garcia, 48; Uziyah Garcia, 10; Amerie Jo Garza, 10; Xavier Lopez, 10; Jayce Carmelo Luevanos, 10; Tess Mata, 10; Maranda Mathis, 11; Eva Mireles, 44; Alithia Ramirez, 10; Annabell Rodriguez, 10; Maite Rodriguez, 10; Alexandria “Lexi” Rubio, 10; Layla Salazar, 11; Jailah Nicole Silguero, 10; Eliahana Cruz Torres, 10; Rojelio Torres, 10.

These are the victims, the lives that were claimed by Ramos. 

Recently an NPR article discussed how to ease a child’s stress over school shootings and gun violence. However, I believe that this is not the right article to be writing.

With so many school shootings happening, the conversation we should be having is how to talk to students about school shootings. We should not be trying to add comfort to an uncomfortable situation.

Discomfort may create a drive to fix the issue. Personally, I don’t know the answer, I don’t think anyone does. Many propose gun control or arming teachers. Many oppose those plans for multiple reasons.

The main people we should be thinking about are the parents, survivors, and community members. Some in Uvalde, Texas have set up a GoFundMe to help affected families. If you have the means, please donate here.