Anthony Breznican, the veteran entertainment writer, on Thursday tweeted about the horror of going to retrieve his daughter from a Santa Clarita elementary school placed under lockdown on Thursday morning after a shooter opened fire at the community’s Saugus High School, killing one person and critically injuring two others. (The suspect, who has not been identified is in custody and is being treated for injuries at a hospital, Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva said.)
Breznican, a film writer who joined Vanity Fair this year after years at Entertainment Weekly, described how school shootings were the new “normal” for children and said that threats have become frequent enough in Santa Clarita, located 35 miles north of Los Angeles, that “most parents stopped noticing.”
“Like kids everywhere, my little ones grew up playing ‘games’ meant to mask shooting drill practice. For pre-schoolers it was called ‘Rabbit in the Hole.’ Can all the kids fit in a closet and stay very, very quiet? As they got older, they realized the truth,” he wrote.
Also Read: Santa Clarita High School Shooting Leaves 1 Person Dead, Multiple Injured
Breznican also criticized the National Rifle Association and what he described as a “pervasive and reckless gun culture.” (Breznican did not immediately respond to a request for comment.)
“GOD DAMN the NRA and every gun-owner in this country who thinks their hobby is worth this endless nightmare. You drop your kid off in a pilgrim outfit for their Thanksgiving pageant. You never know if you’ll see them again. Could be any day. Any place,” Breznican wrote.
Read his full Twitter account below.
School shooting in my town. In my neighborhood
Helicopters nearing. Sirens screaming.
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) November 14, 2019
Just dropped my kids at elementary school. Now getting them.
Parents are running back, sobbing in lobby. All coming back to get their children. “We will be safer at home.”
Thank you for this hellscape @NRA. Thank you for this endless misery and bloodshed.
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) November 14, 2019
GOD DAMN the NRA and every gun-owner in this country who thinks their hobby is worth this endless nightmare.
You drop your kid off in a pilgrim outfit for their Thanksgiving pageant. You never know if you’ll see them again.
Could be any day. Any place.
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) November 14, 2019
In lobby of my school, parents aren’t sure whether to pull their kids or not. No one wants to scare them, but the parents are scared.
Everyone on phones, networking news from friends about Saugus shooting nearby. Teachers/secretaries trying to stay calm, but they are stricken.
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) November 14, 2019
The fear at our school is that an idiot weekend warrior will show up with his AR-15 to “protect” it.
We have so many of those wannabe cowboy Call of Duty fantasy role-play weirdos in our community.
Every shooting, they SAY they’ll do this
For real. This is the world we’re in.
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) November 14, 2019
Taking my kids out. Bringing some parents and kids to our house.
Everyone trying to lie to the little ones about what’s happening. I just said “Early release today!”
No one says “shooting.”
One 6 year old said to another “Venom in the school.”
Saugus Shooting
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) November 14, 2019
Waiting for my daughter, then getting out. An avalanche of parents are pouring in.
Hearing all sorts of terrifying, unconfirmed reports via the parents. Won’t share because who knows for sure.
Feels like a bad dream.
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) November 14, 2019
Kids leaving are crying now. They know.
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) November 14, 2019
Got my daughter. She’s 10, dressed in black and white pilgrim outfit.
Very quiet. I asked what she knew, what they told them. “Someone st Saugus high … hurt kids.”
Barely a whisper. Then she cried.
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) November 14, 2019
We are home. Can still hear choppers overhead.
Got some other kids with us, and trying to keep things normal for them.
I guess this is normal now
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) November 14, 2019
Let me tell you about my town, Santa Clarita. Site of the most recent American #schoolshooting.
The kids are upstairs, safe. Playing with their friends. The town is grieving.
Our family has lived here for six years. In that time, many, man people here saw this coming.
1/
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) November 14, 2019
My daughter started kindergarten in 2014 with armed sheriff's deputies filling the parking lot.
First day of school had a war zone vibe. Someone on Instagram had posted a threat to shoot up a Santa Clarita school
The threat was a hoax. The fear was real.https://t.co/GECHD7RvAZ
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) November 14, 2019
There are new threats like that all the time. Happens so frequently, most parents stopped noticing.
Here's a recent one from just this September.https://t.co/D8qAxwPMcf
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) November 14, 2019
Like kids everywhere, my little ones grew up playing "games" meant to mask shooting drill practice.
For pre-schoolers it was called "Rabbit in the Hole." Can all the kids fit in a closet and stay very, very quiet?
As they got older, they realized the truth.
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) November 14, 2019
Santa Clarita is on the far northern edge of Los Angeles. Know the mountains that make the San Fernando Valley? We're basically on the opposite side of them.
There is a pervasive and reckless gun culture here. Lots of far-right types who think they're modern day militia cowboys
— Anthony Breznican (@Breznican) November 14, 2019
Read original story Vanity Fair Writer Anthony Breznican on Santa Clarita Parents’ Panic Over School Shooting: ‘I Guess This Is Normal Now’ At TheWrap
