Students have access to guns, and are bringing them to schools in Fort Smith.

Fort Smith police arrested a teenager with a gun, and drugs in his backpack outside of a River Valley Public Charter High School. According to Fort Smith Police Department’s Public Information Officer Aric Mitchell, police received a call from an employee at Future School of Fort Smith at 11:11 a.m. on February 6, reporting that a student had a gun on campus.

Police say the minor resisted when officers attempted to search his bag. Officers ultimately searched the student’s bag, and found marijuana and a loaded handgun. The student did, in fact, have a weapon and has been taken into custody. 

Fort Smith is not the only place this is happening. There have been 80 mass shootings in 2023 already. This has become the norm in the USA. Guns are the leading cause of death among American children and teens. 1 out of 10 gun deaths are age 19 or younger.

“I think the gun issues we have today are mainly because the lack of respect and teenage boys (mostly) not knowing how to handle confrontation. Could also be an issue where there isn’t a father figure in the home, which makes the boys feel like they are men. Overall I believe it is more of a mental health crisis than a gun crisis.” Manager of Engineering Services, Tristan Weaver, said.

School shootings have returned to pre-COVID levels and by some accounts have even increased. However, U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security research shows that if we “know the signs” of gun violence, we can prevent it and reverse the trend.

US citizens are protesting stricter gun laws. The citizens are tired of hearing murder after murder on the news. Shooters are going on rampages around the US trying to kill. We never know where they’re going to show up next.

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