Students share emotional video after West Valley City shooting
Jan 26, 2022, 8:06 AM | Updated: Jun 8, 2022, 5:59 pm
WEST VALLEY CITY, Utah — The 14-year-old accused of shooting and killing two of his classmates while injuring another near Hunter High School is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday, and student leaders in the Granite School District released a powerful video aimed at ending gun violence as a way of showing their support for those affected by the shooting.
The students hope to reach their fellow students and put an end to violence with their video titled “Love in a time of loss.”
There aren’t school boundary lines drawn in a time when an entire community is hurting, and student body presidents at Kearns, Taylorsville, Cyprus, Hunter and Granger high schools came together to create the message.
“We realized with the position we hold as student body presidents that we should be doing something,” said Ashland Cleveland, Kearns High School student body president. “We just reached out to each other and got it together.”
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“The violence happening in our neighborhood needs to come to an end,” students said in the video, which has been seen thousands of times.
Paul Tahi and Tivani Lopati died after being shot along Mountain View Corridor near Hunter High school two weeks ago. Their friend Ephraim Asiata survived and is recovering.
The whole situation has been felt across the community.
“I think it is important to remember that we all have each other’s backs,” said Corbin Cox, Taylorsville High student body president.
Student body presidents from Granite School District release a powerful video aimed at ending gun violence. It’s their way of showing support to those affected by the shooting of 3 Hunter High teens. https://t.co/1oCEuQtIfB pic.twitter.com/NS3iFHadFX
— Tamara Vaifanua (@TamaraVaifanua) January 26, 2022
These students wanted to remind their peers that they are there for them during this difficult time and hope for a brighter future.
“Even the video we tried to talk about violence through the scope of support because in the end, that is how you resolve violence,” Cox said.
The schools are still providing resources to students following the shooting and encourage students to reach out if they need help.