On Tuesday morning, two students were harmed in a school shooting in Great Mills, Maryland. Jaelynn Willey, 16, and Desmond Barnes, 14, were in the hallway when the attacker, Austin Wyatt Rollins, age 17, shot them with a Glock semi-automatic gun.

After hearing gunshots, the school police officer, Deputy Blaine Gaskill, responded to the situation within seconds. He and Rollins shot at one another simultaneously, leaving Rollins struck by a bullet, but it remains unclear if it was Gaskill’s bullet or the shooter’s own. Rollins died at the hospital from his injuries.

Willey, who was shot in the head, was taken off life support by her parents last night. They said she was brain dead. Barnes was shot in the thigh and was hospitalized, but has since been released.

Just last month, this same high school received school shooting threats, but they did not determine the original source of the threats.

While these two incidents do not appear to be linked, they demonstrate the unfortunate fact that school shootings have nearly become the “norm.” This is especially true considering last month’s mass shooting in Florida.

Many students and others believe that we must stop this violence from becoming America’s norm by advocating for more gun regulation laws. In response, Loyola will be offering transportation to and from DC for those who want to attend the March for Our lives demonstration, created in support of gun regulation by the survivors of the Florida high school shooting.

Organizers of the march hope to encourage more to get involved in the effort to change gun policy.

*Photo via Flickr Creative Commons