Only eight days after Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon was devastated with a school shooting, Northern Arizona University suffered from a shooting of their own on Oct. 9.

At about 1 a.m. two opposing groups of a few students were visited by police due to confrontation. Later, there was a text at around 2:52 a.m. cautioning students about a shooting that had happened more than an hour ago. There was one death and three students were wounded. The shooter, 18-year-old Stephen Jones has since been arrested and charged with first-degree murder.

Since the Sandy Hook Shooting in December of 2012, there have been 144 school shootings, which averages to about once a week. The majority of the states have had a school shooting, with a concentration on the Eastern side of the country. School shootings can encompass a variety of scenarios, including gun fire with no injuries, unintentional fire resulting in injury or death, attempted suicide or suicide with no intention of others being injured, and attack on another person or people resulting in injuries or death.

How we’ve been able to continue this pattern without changing our ways is appalling, and thankfully most people are finally noticing. It can be challenging to discuss guns though, since there are many deeply divided opinions and no room for compromise in the eyes of radicals. Whether it’s with stricter gun laws, teachers having handguns (though is fighting fire with fire logical?), or better care for the mentally challenged, something needs to change. Because doing something, regardless of if it’s some people’s first choice, is better than simply sitting back and waiting for everyone to magically come to a consensus.