Terror struck in Nevada as a 12-year-old boy opened fire with a semi-automatic handgun at his middle school on Oct. 21. The boy wounded two students and shot and killed a teacher before taking his own life.
Rebecca Antivilo, a freshman in business management from Chile, said, “I think it’s sad that kids are not learning to deal with their problems and seeking drastic measures to solve them. Kids are growing up with so much violence in video games, music and movies that they become immune to it. It’s sad that now we have 12-year-olds shooting others and then committing suicide.”
Michael Landsberry, an ex-marine who taught math and coached basketball and soccer, was fatally shot by the boy Jose Reyes.
Reyes had recently moved to a new home a month before. He was known as a quiet, but normal 12 year old boy. He liked soccer, roding his bicycle around the neighborhood, playing violin and was a big fun of video game, “Call of Duty.”
Those who knew Reyes said Reyes had friends, but not many. “He didn’t seem to be a loner,” said one student. However, as reporters asked several students if they knew Reyes, almost all admitted that they did not know who he was.
Toby Redd, a senior in finance from Washington, said, “I think that we see an increase in violence and other really messed up stuff because kids see it so much in the media. Kids nowadays are more desensitized than they ever have been and it just continues to escalate.” Part of the investigation is a look into the anti-bullying video shown to students earlier in the month, which depicts a child taking a gun on a school bus to scare bullies, said school officials.
A public memorial service with full military honors is to be held for Landsberry on Nov. 3 at a Sparks church. One unidentified veteran left the U.S. Navy Medal for Meritorious Service he earned in Iraq, with a note that read, “You deserve the Medal of Honor in my book.”