Anger. Rage. Those are the words that could explain my emotions. Though they are understatements.

Last January, I saw on the news that a man had killed his girlfriend, her son, and a KSU student. Living as close to Cleveland as I do, shootings are horribly common. This one hit our small community hard. "Things like this don't happen here".

The saddest part for me is I knew the little boy who died. I had actually been his teacher for a week and a half. I told him goodbye when he moved because his "real" teacher couldn't. He was a typical kid. He was sweet and always had a smile.

What makes me angry is this monster's defense. He is now claiming that he was high (meth and other depressants) and not taking his medicine. Apparently, he is bipolar. However, what he describes is schizophrenia than bipolar disorder. He killed three people. Three INNOCENT people. A child and a young woman who was practically a child.

The trial is just beginning. Details are emerging. All I can ask myself is what kind of home life did this sweet child have? Did we, as teachers, do everything we could have done to remove him from a dangerous home environment? Could something we have done prevented this?

What kind of horrible world do we live in?