This morning a 20-year-old gunman murdered 27 people, including 20 children, in Sandy Hook Elementary School.
Keep the victims and their families in mind today as this unfortunate incident is, sadly, not the first.
Read more about the shooting here, and keep your eyes out for ways to help the families.
Also, in regards to school shootings, I think education is very important, and I like to do this through writing and reading as many of you know. Even though I personally believe we cannot logically understand the illogical (situations like this), I still think we can try and/or cope. 
I read Todd Strasser’s, Give a Boy a Gun, many years ago, and I found myself deeply moved by the severity of school violence he exposed. I really suggest this reading and/or Rachel’s Tears, which depicts the life of Columbine victim, Rachel Scott.
Please educate yourself, share these novels, and prevent the pain of more suffering by understanding as much as we can about these tragic circumstances.
And, remember, help the families if you are able to this holiday season,
~SAT
Shannon A. Thompson 
This whole incident could of been avoided, If yes. There was more education and some safety measures were in place. 😦
Only if you had a crystal ball. There were safety measures in place, ones the school practiced after the Columbine shooting. Education is not going to stop these shooting. Eliminating the access to assault weapons may help. I bet there’s another shooting before 2012 is over. Let’s just hope it’s not worse that Newtown, CT.
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I was stunned when I first saw this, this morning. Almost broke into tears right in the workplace. I will definitely be praying for these people for a long time. I’m still praying for the people in Aurora and that Sikh temple in Wisconsin. I figure it takes a long, long time to recover from something like this. If they ever do…
Shannon, love your writing 🙂 Very evocative.
So tragic. My heart breaks for the lives lost and aches for ones who love them.
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Shannon, thanks for the follow and the book recommendation. I wish it wasn’t appropriate to read, but sadly it is.
Well written. I am a gun owner in Canada. I am lucky, I do not walk in fear as maybe those south of the border. However, I am a parent and this has really scared me. What is happening here today will doubtless be repeated if there is not some change in education, restriction and a close look at mental health issues and those who will put others at risk if exposed to firearms.
My sincerest sympathy to all those affected.
I think books like this should be mandatory reads in school. Sadly, today proves that such messages are not being met in the minds of young people today. Thanks for the follow too!
Books like these should be mandatory. I dont think the messag is reaching the minds of enough young people. Thanks for the follow too!
Such a heartbreaking situation. I never want to have a conversation with my middle school students as I did today again. They had so many questions and I had little to offer in answers for them beyond the fact our school and teachers will do everything possible to keep them safe no matter what situation would happen.
Thanks for the follow. Sad that it had to be spurred by such a traumatic event. Your book recommendations look great. I’ll look into them. I’ll be checking back often!
Shannon, it was very nice reading your post about the shooting that happened yesterday. Actually, I wrote two posts about it and I did not give any comment on how this incident could have been avoided. In fact, I do not think that more education is the best solution. The problem is the quality of education to provide to our children at their homes and schools. Several factors influence the fate and mentality of these kids. Consequently, it is very difficult to underscore the main reason why this happened, nor to find one solution for it. Our whole humanity system should be reconsidered and rebuilt in a proper way. That’s a step no one would ever feel courageous enough to take it!! (Hopefully, someone will prove me wrong)
Thank you for highlighting these books. I will be reading both of them. Thank you, too, for stopping by my blog. If you hadn’t, I wouldn’t have found yours.
Shannon: thanks for following thereaderblog. like you, i was an english major in college. it was so liberating for me to find that books were taken seriously! in my home, i was considered almost defective because i read so much.
i hope that this tragedy can open some bipartisan dialogue. with 300 million guns in the U. S., any solution is going to have to be innovative and multifactorial. Any simplistic solution can immediately be discounted. As for people who say, if the murderers didn’t have guns, they’d use something else, i don’t buy it. The ease of killing, the rapidity, the avoidance of getting one’s hands dirty–these are unique benefits of guns. americans have a relationship with guns that other countrymen do not. i don’t have an inkling of an answer; i just know my heart is broken and i’m outraged at the same time.
Love the bravery of posting about the shooting, many I think have an opinion but are frightened to share due to trolls and ignorance. Education and the de-stigmatising of mental illness needs to be hand in hand with gun control.
Bravery is needed in tragic times as these, and just by posting back, you’ve shown courage. You can post, and I would be proud to read your opinion.
~SAT
As sad as Sandy Hook was, there were over 250 children killed this year due to gun violence. Over 500 people were murdered due to gun violence this year. Something’s got to change.
Here’s my musical tribute to Sandy Hook…http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3xTiJ7xEPE
Hi,
It is so important to have an idea of what is going on. It is also important to try and understand the pain of the families. Nothing is guaranteed in life and that has been shown again by what happened in Sandy Hook. My prayers go out to the families who are experiencing this unbelievable pain.
Ciao,
Patricia