Violence is everywhere. We see violence on a daily basis but mass violence, especially school violence, is something no one should ever have to experience.

I know this because I experienced it. I can better understand what the students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida feel. According to the Guardian, as of Thursday evening, 17 people are dead and 15 are injured.

Almost four years ago at my high school in the Pittsburgh suburbs, Franklin Regional, a stabbing took place where 21 people were attacked and, by God’s grace, everyone survived. Smaller in number, yes, and a different scenario, but still an act of violence.

The Florida shooter, Nikolas Cruz, who had been expelled, entered the school armed with an AR-15 and a backpack of additional loaded magazines, according to CNN. No motive has been released yet.

The Las Vegas shooting happened only four months ago, although it seems as if the nation has already forgotten about it. In an effort to re-sensitize the nation, students of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School are working to remind the country that this is an event we have allowed to become normal. What will it honestly take to get the policy and change that we need?

I understand that what I experienced was not a shooting, but a stabbing is just as traumatic.

Now, how do I relate to this situation, despite these differences? I relate to the people that stayed to help victims who were shot, and I relate to the people that saw people get shot. I too, stayed to help and I too, saw people get stabbed. The outcome of witnessing violence like this has consequences. The images of the blood and the violence you see never goes away. These students will likely suffer from PTSD, as I do.

No one seems to really care and no one is taking any action about it. It’s about time we think of those who are victims, those who were killed and the families of everyone affected by this tragedy. What’s it going to take for students, teachers and their families to feel safe in a school environment?