Jacob Hall, Victim of the School Shooting in Townville, South Carolina, Dies at Age 6
Our Condolences to Jacob Hall’s Family and Community https://t.co/bK7bdcST9k pic.twitter.com/yHTsJYvRxn
”” Sandy Hook Promise (@sandyhook) October 1, 2016
Jacob Hall was shot last week while playing on the playground at his South Carolina elementary school by a 14-year-old with a gun. After four of the worst days in the world for his parents, he died Saturday at the age of six.
According to NBC News, last Wednesday the 14-year-old suspect allegedly shot his father to death, then went to Townville Elementary School, where he opened fire and shot Jacob Hall, another six-year-old, and the first-grade teacher before he was tackled by an off-duty fireman who rushed to the scene.
The teacher and the other student were treated for their injuries and released that day, but Jacob Hall was shot in the leg and the bullet hit his femoral artery, which resulted in massive blood loss. He was in critical condition for several days, and on Saturday he died of his injuries.
A family friend posted a photo of Jacob’s parents huddled next to him in his hospital bed.
The 14-year-old was arrested and charged with one count of murder, for his father, and three counts of attempted murder for the playground, but those charges could well change now that Jacob Hall has died. Authorities have not yet announced whether or not the teenager will be tried as an adult or a juvenile.
Nothing about this makes sense. How do we live in a world where a six-year-old can’t play on the playground at his own school safely? How do we even send our kids to school when this keeps happening? How the hell does a 14-year-old get his hands on a gun? Kids shouldn’t have to be afraid to go to school, and we shouldn’t have to be afraid to send them, but somehow this is the world we’re living in now.
It’s hard to imagine what Jacob Hall’s parents must be going through, but we’re probably all imagining it. This keeps happening, and it could have been any kid at any school.
