Torontonians react to mass school shooting in U.S.
The day after 19 children and two adults were shot to death in a Texas school massacre, Canadians are feeling sorrow for their neighbours.
“It’s sad, it is heart breaking,” said one woman exiting the subway.
Retired teacher Janice Genova told CTV News Toronto she cannot fathom being inside a classroom with a gunman firing at her young students.
“I just cringe. I can’t imagine being in a classroom with Grade 4’s and that happened and you have no chance of doing anything. You don’t even know that they are in the building. You can’t even hold and secure under the desks like you are taught.”
“For me I was obviously upset about it, I was really shocked with what is going on in the world, its really sad," one young school girl told CTV News Toronto.
Another said she was scared.
“I think it honestly really worries me because I don’t think children should have to worry about being shot by a random adult. They could literally do it any time”
Psychotherapist Roxanne Francis recommends parents of very young children not talk to them about the mass shooting, saying that at that age they don’t need to know about all the tragedy in the world.
‘I would say it depends on the age of the children. If the children are really little, if they are in junior kindergarten then I would say don’t bring it up unless they ask.”
But if they are in grade school, there could be an opening to talk.
“If the children are a little bit older, if they are in grade five, grade four, grade six you may want to say something like ‘something really tragic happened in the U S yesterday’, they maybe talking about it at school."
But the question of how to stop these mass school shootings weighs heavy on the minds of Canadians. Teresa Popanachi says the answer is simple--gun control.
“And the Senate should be able to understand that and pass the law that they can not sell those rifles to just anybody, especially an 18 year old.”
Doug Thompson says the answer is far from simple.
“The guns are already out there and they are going to last 100 years with minimal maintenance. So even if you turned off the tap tomorrow you’ve got 100 years of guns. A very difficult problem.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Princess Anne to take part in B.C. ceremony bringing new ship into Pacific fleet
Canada's first Arctic and Offshore Patrol Vessel will officially be brought into the Pacific fleet today and Princess Anne, the sister of King Charles, is scheduled to take part in its commissioning ceremony.
How falling for a stranger she met on a beach led this woman to ditch the U.S. for the French Riviera
Niki Benjamin, from the U.S., had travelled to a paradise island to do some soul searching, and her life ended up going in a very different direction when her dog ran up to a stranger.
NEW Biscuits with possible plastic pieces, metal found in ground pork: Here are the recalls for this week
Here are the latest recalls Canadians should watch out for, according to Health Canada and the Canadian Food Inspection Agency.
Police move in to clear NYU encampment, U.S. campus arrests grow to 2,200 in pro-Palestinian protests
Police moved in to clear an encampment at New York University on Friday at the request of school officials, a move that follows weeks of pro-Palestinian protests at college campuses nationwide that have resulted in nearly 2,200 arrests by police.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
More than half of Canadians say freedom of speech is under threat, new poll suggests
A new poll suggests a majority of Canadians feel their right to freedom of speech is in danger.
Feds giving Toronto more than $104M to host 2026 FIFA World Cup
The federal government will provide Toronto just over $104 million in funding to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Wally, the emotional support alligator once denied entry to a baseball game, is missing
Emotional support animal registrations in the United States reached 115,832 last year, by an industry group’s count. But in the eyes of reptile rescuer Joie Henney, there’s only one: 'Wally Gator.'
Parents of infant who died in wrong-way crash on Ontario's Hwy. 401 were in same vehicle
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit has released new details about a wrong-way collision in Whitby on Monday night that claimed the lives of four people.