Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris on Wednesday decried the mass shooting at Apalachee High School in Georgia and students having to worry about gun violence while at school.
“Our kids are sitting in a classroom, where they should be fulfilling their God-given potential, and some part of their big, beautiful brain is concerned about a shooter busting through the door,” Harris said during a campaign speech in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. “It does not have to be this way. And, you know, this is one of the many issues that's at stake in this election.”
A 14-year-old student at the school opened fire at the school Wednesday and killed two fellow students and two teachers, according to Georgia law enforcement officials. Nine other people were injured in the shooting. Prosecutors plan to charge the suspected gunman as an adult.
This was at least the 45th school shooting in the United States this year, according to a CNN analysis. There were 82 school shootings in the country last year. Overall in 2024, there have been at least 385 mass shootings in the U.S., according to the Gun Violence Archive.
