Mass shooting at Michigan State University on eve of fifth anniversary of Parkland shooting

I wanted to wish my readers a Happy Valentines Day today, but I'm not feeling it because there were 3 killed, 5 injured in shootings at Michigan State University; suspect dead last night as KABC 7 in Los Angeles reported this morning.

Three people are dead and five others injured after a shooting at multiple locations on Michigan State University's East Lansing campus Monday night, police said, and a suspect has died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, ABC News reported.

Jory Rand opened his report with "This is an American story, an unwell person with access to guns." He closed it with "This is a uniquely American story. These kinds of things don't happen in other developed countries like this. And as we said after Ulvade, this is our latest mass shooting. It won't be our last." That's depressing. It's also not the kind of "American exceptionalism" I wish to celebrate.

One of the ironies in the previous clip is that one of the Michigan State students being interviewed was wearing an Oxford Strong sweatshirt. That honors the victims and survivors of the mass shooting at Oxford High School, which I found too distressing to cover at the time.

I find myself unable to blog about the shooting at Oxford High School and its ongoing fallout. It's too fast moving and too close to home, literally. I might get to it later, but then again, I didn't blog about the Larry Nassar scandal until 2019.* It may be a while.

More than a year, to be precise. At least one MSU student survived both mass shootings. WDIV/Click On Detroit interviewed her mother in Michigan State student who survived Oxford shooting was sheltered in place in East Lansing.

Andrea Ferguson’s daughter survived the Oxford High School shooting in 2021 and in her first semester at Michigan State was sheltered in place on campus during the active shooter situation.

On the one hand, I'm glad Andrea Ferguson’s daughter is O.K. On the other, I find it horrifying that she's had to go through this terrifying experience twice in just over a year.

Speaking of horrifying, today is the fifth anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida. WUSA 9 observed the grim occasion in Remembering the 17 lives lost in the Parkland school shooting, 5 years later.

It was February 14, 2018, when Hogg, then 17, and other terrified students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida.

Seeing this reminds me that I need to follow up on 'Teenage Dream' and 'The Lost Class' — two PSAs about gun violence nominated for Outstanding Commercial at the 2022 Emmy Awards. "Teenage Dream" won Outstanding Commercial. Now, may it change hearts and minds in addition to winning awards.

Speaking of hearts and minds, I have a song from Randy Rainbow for events like these. Stay tuned.