Middle school student breaks down in tears asking Beto O’Rouke how he’ll stop school shootings

A middle school student has become emotional and broken down in tears as she asked presidential candidate Beto O'Rourke​ how he plans on stopping mass shootings.

The emotional moment occurred on Monday during a campaign stop for O'Rourke, a former Texas congressman, at Berg Middle School in Iowa, reports the Huffington Post.

Speaking to O'Rourke the student, an eighth-grader, questioned him saying:

Almost one week ago there was a school shooting at UNC Charlotte  in North Carolina.

Riley Howell died protecting his peers from the shooter.

She continued:

Unfortunately, the death of students and faculty aren’t the only problems going on. Surviving a school shooting can give victims PTSD and survivors' guilt. 

These issues can lead to suicide. In one case, a Parkland survivor, Sydney Aiello, suffered from both of these conditions and committed suicide a year after the shooting.

Shootings, in general, are bloodthirsty attacks perpetrated to instil fear and harm innocent people. Ever since Columbine and Sandy Hook, school shootings have become regular occurrences in the news. 

Society is becoming numb to children being slaughtered. Victims and survivors aren’t just numbers. They are human beings.

After thanking Milan for her powerful question, O'Rourke said that if he was elected, he would expand background checks on gun buyers, ban 'weapons of war' from being sold to civilians, and support the passage of red flag laws, allowing law enforcement officials to seize firearms.

In the past, O'Rourke has advocated for universal background checks for those purchasing firearms and has also called on banning assault weapons, reports USA Today.

O'Rourke then added that that young people throughout history have been a 'force' that has led to 'big things' that have been achieved in the US, including the example of the civil rights movement.

Speaking of the civil rights movement, he said:

They forced people in power to do the right thing.

Then, pointing at the teenager, he added:

You're forcing people in power to do the right thing right now.

Since the 1999 Columbine High School shooting in Colorado, which left 15 people dead, over 300 people have been killed, and 450 have been injured in school shootings, reports Newsweek.

HT Huff Post

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