RAMON ALVARADO

Nineteen-year-old Nikolas Cruz was charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder following his attack with an AR-15 on Majory Stoneman Douglas High School Feb. 14.

A hearing for Cruz was held on Monday, though it was over in just minutes. Executive Chief Public Defender, Gordon Weekes said the hearing was inadvertently scheduled. Weekes went on to say Cruz will likely be absent from upcoming hearings because he has no reason to be there.

Federal law enforcement sources claim Cruz purchased seven rifles over the last year, a warning sign no one took seriously. The 19-year-old was investigated in 2016 by the Florida Department of Children and Families.

Police records show deputies went to Cruz’s home over 30 times in 2016. They then sent an investigator over to see if he was being mistreated in Sept. of the same year.

The investigator found that Cruz had posted videos cutting his arms on Snapchat, suffered from ADHD, autism, and depression. The DCF closed the investigation six weeks later after finding no evidence of Cruz being treated badly.

The FBI apologized Friday for mishandling a tip they received in Jan. from someone who was concerned about Cruz and the likelihood of him carrying out a mass shooting. FBI officials never received the tip. The FBI tip-line receives about 2,100 calls a day.

With tips to the FBI now seeming useless, gun control is again the hot topic in America.

Last week’s Florida incident is already the 18th mass shooting of 2018. We’re only two-and-a-half months into the year.

Student survivors at Majory Stoneman Douglas High School are now speaking out, hoping to ignite the gun control movement. The students went to social media to lash out against politicians and the National Rifle Association. Monday, President Donald Trump said he is open to improving background checks on those who buy firearms, a measure that is backed by the NRA.

Five states –California, Connecticut, Indiana, Oregon and Washington– have passed gun violence restraining orders, which allow guns to temporarily be taken away from people who are deemed a threat to themselves or others by a judge.

At least eighteen other states have a similar bill pending.

The gun violence restraining orders are just a small step towards a safer America. The second amendment was ratified in 1791, guns have advanced quite a lot since then, but the laws on firearms have not. With the gun control topic gaining steam again, U.S. citizens may finally have their rights to bare automatic rifles taken away in the near future.