Texas school shooting: Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson reacts to ‘wild’ requests for school shooting episode
‘People are that deeply removed from demanding more from the politicians they’ve elected and are instead demanding “entertainment”,’ she said
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Abbott Elementary creator Quinta Brunson has said she is being inundated with “wild” requests from fans to write a school shooting episode, following the deadly attack in Texas this week.
On Tuesday (24 May), 19 children and two teachers were killed after a teenage gunman went on a shooting rampage at Robb Elementary school.
The shooting is the deadliest in a US primary school since the 2012 Sandy Hook killings in Newtown, Connecticut, in which 20 children and six adults were killed.
The shooter, named as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos, was wearing body armour and had a handgun and a rifle, all of which are commercially available in the state of Texas, which expanded access to guns as recently as last year.
Posting to Twitter on Wednesday, Brunson wrote: “Wild how many people have asked for a school shooting episode of the show I write.
“People are that deeply removed from demanding more from the politicians they’ve elected and are instead demanding ‘entertainment.’ I can’t ask ‘are yall ok’ anymore because the answer is ‘no.’”
She urged people to “please use that energy to ask your elected official to get on Beto time and nothing less”, adding: “I’m begging you.”
Brunson continued: “I don’t want to sound mean, but I want people to understand the flaw in asking for something like this. we’re not okay. this country is rotting our brains. im sad about it.”
Abbott Elementary, a US mockumentary that airs on ABC, centres on a group of committed teachers working at a struggling school in Philadelphia. The teachers are determined to give their students the best start in life possible, despite the school being underfunded.