Missouri Coach Eliah Drinkwitz Comments on St. Louis School Shooting
Three people, including a teenage girl and a teacher, are dead, and seven others are injured following a school shooting in St. Louis Missouri on Monday.
The third death was that of the shooter, 19-year-old Orlando Harris, who succumbed to his wounds in the hospital following a battle with police.
The seven other injuries were all non-life threatening, according to reports.
During his weekly press conference with the media on Tuesday, Missouri Tigers head football coach Eliah Drinkwitz spoke out about the shooting, expressing his deep sadness over the tragedy.
"I want to start by expressing my thoughts and prayers to St. Louis and the St. Louis community and to all those affected by the tragic events of yesterday," Drinkwitz said to open his session. "Just such a shame for us to continue to have to face these types of stories and issues. For me, it's not political at all. It's about protecting the future of our country and our children are our future. And we cannot continue to live like this. We just can't.
"I talked to our staff and talked to my wife about it all the time. It's not about who's right. It's about what's right. And we need to get this right."
Thus far in 2022 alone, there have been 40 school shootings and 122 people killed in those shootings across the United States.
And Drinkwitz wants to find a solution.
"We've got to figure out how we can protect our kids from walking into schools afraid ... that should be the last thing on their minds when they're walking into a school to learn, grow, mature, and become our future," Drinkwitz said. "And so, just asking for all of us to instead of picking sides and picking and pointing out all the issues, and let's find solutions. Let's find real solutions.
Drinkwitz said the the team will take a moment on this football Saturday ro recognize the lives lost and that he and the school will "continue to place St. Louis... in our thoughts and prayers."