Source: Fox 8
Four in 10 Americans think schools in their communities are not safe from gun violence, according to a PBS NewsHour/NPR/Marist poll.
For a community in Lumberton, North Carolina, that startling statistic hits close to home. Since the school year started, there have been at least 16 high school football gun violence incidents; with 10 school shootings happening in North Carolina this year.
“I would call it an alarming trend,” David Riedman, a criminologist and founder of the K-12 School Shooting Database, told NBC News. “Right now, it appears we’re on pace with last year when there was at least one shooting at a football game each week on the season.”
Lumberton High School is included on the list, as earlier last month, a shooting occurred in the school’s parking lot during a Friday night football game.
According to Fox8, school officials, including the Executive Director of the National Federation of State High School Associations, say they’re concerned about the disturbing number of gun violence occurrences at high school football games.
Last year, gun violence marred the high school football seasons of Wallace Rose Hill and James Kenan high schools, and during Dudley High School’s Football Jamboree.
North Carolinians and advocacy groups have called on the Republican-led legislature to pass common sense gun safety measures. A poll from Third Way, found that a strong majority of North Carolinians believe there is a need for action on gun regulations and support policies to keep guns out of the hands of potentially dangerous individuals.
