On October 1st, 2017, a man named Stephan Paddock opened fire from the 32nd floor of the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Below the hotel was a music festival that 22,000 innocent people attended. This is where Paddock shot, killing over 50, and injuring over 500. When I found out about this mass shooting, I was shocked about how cruel a person could be? I thought to myself, “Who in their right mind would try to hurt innocent people for no reason? ”As soon as I found out, I started to get everything that the media was talking about. I was disgusted at the things people said, defending this murderer. I felt disappointed in the way our country reacted. But on the other hand, I was proud with the way others reacted. They tried to raise money, and help the people who were injured. It was heartwarming to see that people do care and that they want to help.

     I decided to interview two of my classmates about their thoughts on what had happened. One of those classmates being Amiyah Russell.  I asked Amiyah, “What was your reaction when you first heard of the shooting?” Amiyah responded, “When I first heard about the shooting I was very disappointed that there are still senseless killings happening in the world today.” I agree with her because it’s really not that hard to be a good person, yes we all make mistakes, but still. The second question I asked was, “Do you think the media reacted effectively? (Did they try to raise awareness, etc.)” She answered with, “I think the media could’ve done more for the families. But the media really did set the idea that a madman could be anyone.” As I stated earlier, many people didn’t really do anything, or try to help. Some even defended the man who began the shooting. And yes, news channels did show that anyone can do these things. The final question I asked was “Were you personally affected by the shooting? If not, how do you think the people who were affected by the shooting felt?” She said, “I was not personally affected by the shooting, but I think the families of the victims felt terrible that someone who they didn’t even know decided to kill their loved one. What’s worse is that the families were never able to say goodbye.” The thought of talking to someone one day, and the next they’re gone, is absolutely terrifying. Never talking to someone ever again is the scariest thing I could think of.

     Next, I asked the same set of questions to Cadence Butler. Her first answer being, “That sucks”. It was a very blunt answer, but it makes sense. To answer the second question she said, “I think the media totally blew up the story, people get shot up all the time, but one mass shooting and they freak out, the only difference is that one person can get shot and they don’t care, but if a large group of people gets shot, well then it seems like everyone competes on who can have the best story, and then all the news channels are talking about that one shooting while nobody else cares anymore.” I also think this occurs when big tragedies happen. It’s kind of like an advantage for news channels or newspapers. They get to write several articles about the events that happen, such as Hurricane Harvey or Trump’s Inauguration. It gives them attention, even though the families and the people that got injured should be given more attention, and checking up on. In my opinion, we should be more aware of people’s actions. Like Cadence said, when people who are individually murdered no one really cares. When it’s a mass shooting, everyone flips out. I understand that yes, more people died, but either way, a life is lost. I asked my final question and her response was, “I wasn’t personally affected but the guy who was in the room directly under the shooting was my friend Sasha’s dad (Floyd Conrade). I think the people who were affected felt scared but I think that they just need to suck it up, people die everywhere every day.” I think that yes, they were terrified. They were literally running for their lives. If I were them, it would probably scar me for life.

     There is not a valid reason that Paddock did this horrid act. He was on a prescribed drug to reduce anxiety. According to the Review Journal, “Stephen Paddock, who killed at least 58 people and wounded hundreds more in Las Vegas on Sunday with high-powered rifles, was prescribed an anti-anxiety drug in June that can lead to aggressive behavior” (Paul Harasim,  Review Journal). So, maybe because of the drug he was on, made him do this. Either way, if he was feeling different than usual, and experiencing thoughts that he was, he should’ve asked for help from someone.

     I believe things like this should be monitored more closely. They should have to check through your bags like an airport. There should be more safety precautions to prevent events like this from happening. My thoughts and prayers are going out to the victims and families of people who were affected by this tragedy.