Photo Courtesy of Waffle House

On April 22nd, Sunday morning, a man entered a Nashville Waffle House armed with an AR-15 and shot diners inside killing 4 and injuring another 4. The shooter fled the scene after 29-year old James Shaw Jr. forcefully took the weapon away from the then naked shooter. A manhunt began after authorities arrived on the scene. The suspect was found hiding in the woods near home early Monday afternoon after the police received tips from neighbors.

The shooter had shown clear signs of mental issues and was once convinced Country-Pop singer Taylor Swift was stalking him. The shooter also had both his Illinois gun license and guns taken away after breaching White House security barriers in an effort to meet with President Donald J. Trump but had his guns returned to him by his father. The shooter identified as a sovereign citizen and was flagged down by both the FBI and Secret Service.

This tragedy was yet another that could have been prevented but was not. “There is a clear mental health issue going on and we need to focus on that more than we do now” Miguel Estrada ‘18 had to say on the issue. “This guy was pretty crazy from what I’ve seen in the news and shouldn’t have had access to guns especially since he was flagged by the secret service!” said Cristian Meza ‘19. “I don’t really support guns much to begin with and this incident has reinforced what I’ve been saying about how easy it is to get a gun” said Andy Garcia UIC ‘21.

Whether or not you are for or against the current gun ownership regulations, we can all agree that this incident was yet another tragedy that will have a large impact on current gun laws.