Active Shooter Argumentative Essay

Chaos, panic, confusion; Police sirens approaching at a distance, are only a few of the many descriptive words that can describe the scene of an active shooter incident. Perhaps we are no longer in the 1990s, when in such years the horrific incident of Columbine took place and left a sensation of fear and terror within the American society. Though it has been almost twenty years since the loss of many innocent victims inside of a high school, in today’s modern society we are still seeing active shooter events take place across the United States. On the 14th day in the month of September of the year 2015, an active shooter incident took place inside the premises of Delta State University in the state of Mississippi. The active shooter incident

involved three individuals; two former Delta State professors by the names of Dr. Shannon Lamb (shooter) and Dr. Ethan Schmidt (first victim). Apart from these two individuals, another person was victimize on the day of this horrible shooting, and that is a woman by the name of Amy Prentiss (Wagner & Otis). Amy Prentiss which in this case is the second victim of this incident had close relationships with both the shooter and the first victim (Wagner & Otis). In my interpretation of this current event, I have to say that the topic surrounding the deaths of these three individuals ties back to Samaha’s section of “The Relationship between Criminals and Victims in chapter two of the book Criminal Justice Seventh Edition.
In the context of the section which illustrates the facts about criminals and their victims, it is clear to see how the active shooter incident inside Delta State University ties in.

The shooter, in this case Dr. Shannon Lamb knew both of his victims which corresponds to the evidence stated on chapter two “You always hurt the one you love” ( Samaha, 57). Dr. Shannon Lamb, Dr. Ethan Schmidt, and the female victim Amy Prentiss all had something more than just a friendship; it is as if though Lamb felt betrayed by Prentiss and decided to end her life and the life of the other victim which is accurate to say was perhaps the new companion of Prentiss. Before I go on in stating which In my opinion is the most important correlation between the section of “The Relationship between Criminals and Victims in chapter two of the book Criminal Justice Seventh Edition and the active shooter incident, I will rely on the book “The Mythology of Crime and Criminal Justice” to further elaborate on the idea of criminals and their victims. In the United States, we as a society believe that we will be victims to those we don’t know, when in fact those who are close and related to us are the ones who the majority of the times produce us harm (The Mythology of Crime and Criminal Justice, 35). The active shooter incident, in my opinion ties back to this belief from Kappeler & Potter’s The Mythology of Crime and Criminal Justice. It is clear to see how both Dr. Ethan Schmidt, and the female victim

Amy Prentiss, became targets to someone they knew closely.
Now that I stated the importance to understand that sometimes those closest to us are the most dangerous ones, I will shift points once again and elaborate once more on the section of “The Relationship between Criminals and Victims in chapter two of the book Criminal Justice Seventh Edition and the active shooter incident in Delta State.

It is stated by Samaha as part of his research, that “husbands and boyfriends kill 70 percent of women homicide victims” (Samaha, 57). Though it is unknown whether Prentiss and Lamb had a love relationship at the time of the incident, at one point they did. Perhaps I am making assumptions or perhaps I’m trying to think critically; in my belief I think it is fair to say that though it is unknown whether these two subjects (Prentiss and Lamb) had a love relationship prior to the active shooter, that we can tie Samaha’s point to this idea of “husbands and boyfriends kill 70 percent of women homicide victims”. To conclude my analysis and review of this current event article, I will finalize by stating my own personal belief on the fact that “husbands and boyfriends kill 70 percent of women homicide victims” (Samaha, 57). I personally believe that more awareness has to be brought to this issue and express to the millions of women who experience abusiveness that there is help and that they should do something. This particular statement/ number of victims impacted me; prior to the reading of this chapter and the research and data behind it, I had

no knowledge of the high percentage numbers of women who lose their lives in the hands of their so called loved ones.