On October 10th, 2007, a young boy who was only 14 years old, named Asa H. Coon opened fire at the students of Successtech  Academy alternative high school. he injured 4 people and killed one, finally turning the gun on himself, shooting . Coon was armed with a .22 caliber revolver and a .38 caliber revolver, a box of additional rounds for each pistol, and three folding knives which were all stocked together in a duffle bag owned by Coon. It was said that Coon was swearing  throughout the entire ordeal and had begun the shooting at approximately 1:06 pm on the fourth floor. 

The story that was told afterwards was that allegedly, another 14 year old student, Michael Peek punched Coon for bumping into him in the hallway. As he was walking away Coon shot him in the abdomen. After injuring three others, Coon shot himself in the right side of his head prompting him to die instantly. 

I first came across Coon as I was scouring through the dark parts of the internet. I became interested in the phenomenon of the “American Mass-Shooter.” How come this phenomena of mass-shooters only seems to be a problem recurring in the United States? This was a question to which answer I felt deeply enthusiastic in figuring out? As I was scrolling through many different reddit page (yes reddit, please don’t judge me),  all dedicated to another instances of a mass shooter existing somewhere in the world (or existed) I came across a reddit page dedicated to Asa Coon. The first thing I saw was a picture of left-over remnants of what used to be a human with blood continuously leaking from his nose, mouth, and scattering in different paths from his head. Surprisingly enough, I didn’t feel phased by seeing such a gruesome image. Seeing it made me wonder who was the person behind the image? What happened that led such a person to committing such an atrocious act? I scrolled down, and in the comment section I found the answer I was looking for.

          This was 14 year old Asa Coon who was born in the twenty second of September 1993, and passed away at the date of shooting, October 10th, 2007. I was shocked to know that such an atrocious massacre was perpetrated by that of a mere child. He was only fourteen years old. I wanted to understand Coon. I wanted to know what led him to commit such an act and so I researched throughout the internet to learn as much as I can about the life story of the infamous Asa Coon. 

It turns out that Asa was born to a financially struggling family. He grew up under a household of constant neglect, violence, and abuse. For starters, according to court records, Coon’s father’s whereabouts are unknown and so Coon never really had any idea of who his father was. He grew up with an older brother, Stephan who was charged twice with domestic violence and assault. He was first charged criminally at the age of 12 and placed at a Juvenile detention facility on a charge of domestic assault after he slapped his mother Lori and called her a vulgar name. He refused to follow his probation orders and was later placed into a Youth Development Center at Hudson where he attempted suicide. It was only after he attempted suicide that he was prescribed medication for Depression, ADHD, and high blood pressure. This angered me a lot. I couldn’t help but just ask myself: 

“why is it that we as a society only care only after someone snaps? 

Why are we only able to pay attention only after people get hurt and damage is done? ” 

It’s very hypocritical for a society to just stand there and watch all the signs of a mass shooter and only speak out about it and pretend to “care” only after the damage is done. Furthermore, when looking into his story, his life growing up, I came to a saddening realization. Coon was never given a chance. Throughout reading his story I couldn’t help but just wonder that had not have not been born in such disastrous circumstances, then perhaps Asa Coon may not have committed the horrible act that he did. Until it hit me, that unexpected sense of sadness and empathy just washed over my mind like a waterfall. I sympathized with Asa. At the same time, I also felt bad for sympathizing with him. I reassured myself that he didn’t kill anyone and is more deserving of sympathy than other school shooters. After spending time examining my feelings I found an explanation as to why I was feel sympathy for Coon, an explanation that bothered me. I am able to relate to Coon. I too, know what it’s like to feel that the entire world and all of its inhabitants can’t see you, I know what it feels like when the same people whom you spent so much effort trying to win, decide not to see you. It sends you into a crippling madness unlike any other. It sends you into a deep episode of rage and hatred that can end up consuming you if you are not brave enough to confront it. The world is truly a evil place and this can especially be seen at school. No child should ever have to feel unwanted and unloved. 

           Reading about the case of the shooting of the SuccessTech Academy high school ultimately struck a nerve in me as it sent in a reminiscing flashback of my time in middle school and early high school. I recall during my time in middle school up to my freshman year of high school, how mental health was largely overlooked and still is to some extent. Guidance counselors and teachers only pretend to care through corny measly speeches about student mental health but never really take any solid action to advocate for people’s mental health. There still exists a lot of students who feel unloved, unheard, depressed, hopeless, and worthless. I personally believe that the reason for such poor mental health within your youth, especially without our community here in Flushing, Queens New York, is because there is a extreme cultural and moral emphasis from a lot of parents on academic performance so much so, that  students mental health are ultimately overlooked. I sympathize with these people, I emphasize with them. We as a society need to allocate more resources towards the mental health of the youth. People, especially elders, need to be education, on the dangers of poor mental health, the importance of it, and why it is just as important as that of physical and spiritual health. Action needs to be taken to ensure people that help exists. There is a solution and there is a way out of that dark hole they can’t seem to climb out of. The youth of our nation are very important and thus should be treated with dignity for the youth of today are the future of our country’s tomorrow and that is why they are so precious.