Missouri coach Eli Drinkwitz calls for action after deadly St. Louis high school shooting
Missouri football coach Eli Drinkwitz, like plenty of others in his position before him, called for action on Tuesday following a deadly shooting at a St. Louis high school the day before.
Something, he said, has to finally be done.
“Just such a shame for us to continue to have to face these types of stories and issues,” Drinkwitz said, via the St Louis Post-Disptach. “For me, it’s not political at all. It’s about protecting the future of our country. Our children are our future. We cannot continue to live like this. We just can’t.”
A gunman entered Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St. Louis on Monday morning and opened fire, killing two people — a 61-year-old woman and a 16-year-old girl — and injuring at least seven others before he was killed in a shootout with police, according to The New York Times.
Police said Tuesday that the alleged gunman, who they identified as a 19-year-old former student at the high school, had an AR-15 style rifle with over 600 rounds of ammunition and more than a dozen high-capacity magazines, per CNN. Investigators also found a handwritten note in the car he drove to the high school.
The incident marked the 46th mass shooting this month alone, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
Drinkwitz is just the latest in the sports world to call for action in the wake of gun violence, joining figures like NBA coaches Steve Kerr and Gregg Popovich, among others.
While he didn’t get into specifics, Drinkwitz — who has four young daughters — said he’s sick of people just fighting over guns.
“I talked to our staff and talk to my wife about it all the time. It’s not about who's right. It’s about what’s right,” Drinkwitz said, via the Post-Dispatch. “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 mind when we’re walking into a school to learn, to grow and mature and become our future.
“So I’m just asking for all of us instead of picking sides and picking and pointing out all the issues, let’s find solutions. Let’s find real solutions.”
Drinkwitz is in his third season leading Missouri, which opened the season 3-4. The Tigers will take on No. 25 South Carolina on the road on Saturday, where they will honor victims of the shooting in some fashion.
