“Kill me, please.” I can't believe I did this. These are the chilling words of Michael Carneal, a fourteen-year-old boy who massacred a group of students in a prayer circle at his school (Johnson). Many cases of school shootings show distressed and sometimes incapacitated students suffering from certain mental illnesses that cause them to lose conscious control of their actions, such as Carneal who was later diagnosed with schizophrenia (Johnson). However, many other cases are perpetrated by students suffering from severe depression or extreme psychosis. Nine out of ten shooters surveyed were depressed and/or had suicidal thoughts (Toppo). “Research shows that people who commit school shootings are typically social outcasts, full of rage and who show few signs of remorse or regret during their crimes” (Johnson). One of the most famous school shootings was the 1999 massacre at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, in which 15 people were killed and 24 injured by two high school students (Timeline of Shootings). One of the shooters, Dylan Klebold, was later revealed to be a severely depressed and miserable youth, while his partner Eric Harris was revealed to be a psychopath with a strong superiority complex and a need for control (Toppo). Shootings are on the rise, correlating with rising rates of depression and suicide among teenagers. 4,600 young people (ages 10-24) committed suicide last year and 45% used a gun (Center for Disease Control and Prevention). Often, people who start school shootings are bullied, depressed, or already suicidal. The FBI's Law Enforcement Bulletin reports that approximately 75% of school shooters commit suicide (Pete, Martindale, Nichols). The sho...... middle of paper ......aspects are represented unrealistically and inaccurately. Although she described the immense fear and panic of a shooting, as well as a common and credible case of circumstances leading to the shooting, it seemed highly unlikely that the main character, who mistook one bullet for another classmate, be despised and excluded. by almost all the other characters. However, the novel truly made the reader feel Valerie's pain and understand the absolute horror that a school shooting brings to the students, teachers, school, and community. The frequency of school shootings has spiraled out of control. How many more stories like Valerie's will it take for the American public to realize how widespread a problem school violence is? How many more children will have to be murdered until their peers can go to school without fear of not coming home that day? ??