On October 31st, 2017 at 3:05 PM, 29 year old male rented a Home Depot truck and plowed through a group of bicyclists and pedestrians. Eight people were killed and several injured in the act.

Those lives are being mourned by all, and we pray for the families affected by this tragedy. 

Fortunately, I have never been personally affected by any of these tragedies, but that doesn't mean I don't mourn. I have friends who have been hurt and I am empathetic towards those who have had to experience it. Seeing so many innocent people get injured or killed at the hands of a monster is horrid, and I wish people in this world weren't like this. 

Is there a way to prevent this acts? The only thing we can do is monitor our people. Anything nowadays can be used a weapon, so this will be incredibly difficult, but we should watch for the red flags. Don't ignore things that give you the wrong feeling or appear wrong - it could save someone's life. 

We need to enforce laws - make everyone pay the same price for their actions. We need to clamp down. Being a free country is great and all, but we could be potentially letting people of danger in.

We need to do background checks on every person before they buy weaponry - if we have background checks on vehicles, why don't we on weapons? Why aren't we trying to protect ourselves where it counts? 

We will be able to fully end these acts of violence? Most likely not. As much as everyone would prefer a world of equality and non-violence, it is unlikely we'd achieve that. All we can do is take precautionary measures and be aware of our surroundings. 

These attacks provoke anger and sadness within me. Innocent people died at the hands of a beast just because they were out and about on a holiday. I wish there was more I could do about this - I wish I could get revenge for those who now have to suffer, but I can't. I am only one person and far too young - I'd amount to nothing. As a nation, we need to band together to end these dastardly attacks. Let's save peoples lives! 

Prayers to all who have suffered and to the families - we are all here for you.