Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. They can be people we have known our entire lives, or a stranger sitting next to us at a restaurant. Many people imagine what they would do if they were put into a situation where they needed to be a hero. Some might imagine themselves valiantly running through a smoking building trying to rescue everyone inside. Others might imagine themselves saving their entire school from a threat. But let’s be honest, if most people were put in this situation, they would most likely freeze in fear of what would happen. After all, heroes only live in movies, right? 

Tate Myre, a football start at Oxford High School proved the world wrong on Tuesday, November 30. Like a true hero, he risked his own life to save his school and friends from a shooter. Many of his friends stated that when the shots started firing, he ran straight towards the shooter, taking many shots to the chest before disarming them. Sadly, Tate didn’t survive, passing away in the police car on the way to the hospital after the incident. He was only sixteen years old. 

Ross Wingert, Tate’s wrestling and football coach stated, “I was told that everybody in that school was running one way, and Tate was running the other way.” Like a true hero, when everybody else was running away, he made a decision to help everyone and save many people’s lives. 

Sadly, his wasn’t the only death Tuesday. Three other students were killed: Hana St. Julia, 14, Justin Shilling, 17, and Madisyn Baldwin, 17. The suspect of the shooting was identified as Ethan Crumbley, a fifteen-year-old boy who was taken into custody after the shooting. 

The students at Oxford High School started a petition to rename the Wildcat Stadium to honor Tate’s memory. More than 170,000 people have signed the petition, and if it reaches 200,000 signatures, the field will be renamed Tate Myre Stadium, to honor and remember Tate. 

School shootings have seen a giant spike in the past couple of years. In 2016, there were a total of 61 incidents of gunfire on school grounds, causing 11 deaths and 51 injuries across the U.S. In the past five years, that number has risen drastically, with 144 incidents in 2021 alone, causing 28 deaths and 86 injuries. 

One notable shooting was the 2018 Parkland shooting, where 17 people died, and 17 more were killed. This shooting, along with the uptick in school shootings, has caused the implementation of safety drills in schools nation-wide. Now, every few weeks, we have active threat drills on our campuses to prepare if we ever get into a life-threatening situation such as those in Parkland or Oxford. 

Tate truly is a hero, as if he didn’t do what he did, many more would have been injured, or possibly killed. Tate’s actions were truly brave, and he will be remembered not only by what he accomplished in his life, but also by his actions Tuesday, and what his sacrifice meant to so many people.