Parkland students dismayed after another school shooting in Maryland

'It shouldn't have happened again. Everyone saw what happened here,' one says

PARKLAND, Fla. – Security was tight Tuesday at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School where students were well aware of yet another school shooting – this time unfolding 1,000 miles away in Maryland.

Just after classes started Tuesday, student Austin Rollins, opened fire inside the Great Mills High School and wounded two classmates. A school resource officer intervened and killed the 17-year-old gunman.

The incident was eerily similar to what happened in Parkland more than a month ago.

Sophomore Spencer Silcott was concerned that Rollins may have been inspired by Parkland gunman Nikolas Cruz who killed 17 people and wounded more than a dozen others on Feb. 14.

"I don't understand how people could see this as a way to copycat off of someone else," sophomore Spencer Silcott said. "This was a really horrible incident."

Sophomore Isabella Sills said the shooting in Maryland shows that more needs to be done to protect schools."It shouldn't have happened again. Everyone saw what happened here, and I feel like there should have been increased security," Sills said. "We could have done something to change it."

The Maryland shooting happened as many students in Parkland are preparing for Sunday's March for Our Lives – a massive rally in Washington, D.C., to encourage lawmakers to enact stricter gun laws.  

They were also reacting to news that Zachary Cruz, the gunman's brother, was caught trespassing Monday and arrested at Stoneman Douglas after reportedly disobeying repeated warning to stay away.

"It's disappointing that he was trespassing," sophomore Liam Kiernan said.  "He said that he wanted to take time and absorb everything that happened. He could have done that without going into the school."


About the Author:

Terrell Forney joined Local 10 News in October 2005 as a general assignment reporter. He was born and raised in Cleveland, Ohio, but a desire to escape the harsh winters of the north brought him to South Florida.