On November 1, 2017, three innocent people were gunned down inside the Walmart Supercenter in Thornton, Colorado. That evening a man entered the store and opened fire with a handgun on three shoppers.
While this is just one of many terror attacks that have occurred across the United States, this one hits near our town. Roughly thirteen miles from Brighton, many were emotionally impacted by this Thornton attack.
“It makes me upset and nervous to know that this attack occurred so close to home. It shows how instant your life can change because of somebody else’s decisions,” said Alexa Archuleta (‘20).
Some students at Brighton High School were personally impacted by this shooting, one of them being freshmen Evadely Fontes who was in the area at the time of the attack.
“I was scared and worried for those in the store. It was very surreal for something like this to happen so close to home,” said Eva Fontes (‘21).
The aftermath of this is attack can be damaging as well. Being involved in a tragedy like this can fully alter your outlook on your community and the world. For Eva, being involved in this attack has only made her more cautious of the future and her community.
“This attack changed the overall view I have on the Thornton area. It made me realize the cruelty of the world and how dreadful people’s actions can be. Being in the area at the time of this shooting has made me anxious and fearful to be in public places such as grocery stores,” said Evadely Fontes (‘21).
This cold-blooded attack is just one of many that have happened recently in America. On October 1, 2017, a mass shooting occurred at the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival killing fifty-eight and injuring five hundred forty six innocent concert go-ers. Just a month later a shooting occurred in Sutherland Springs, Texas, surpassing the Columbine High School Massacre for deadliest mass shooting. Twenty-six were killed and twenty injured.
The destruction a single human being can have is clear not only from this shooting but from others across the United States. From the Las Vegas mass shooting to the recent massacre in Texas, indescribable feelings of pain and disgust have fallen over the nation.
It is impossible to understand how another human being could act in such an inhumane way. No matter the motive one thing is clear, the pain from these tragedies is widespread.