The tranquil and serene town of Hillsborough was shocked in early September after shots were fired at three township homes by an alleged eighteen-year-old resident of Hillsborough. This instance can be deemed a reminder to all that no town is safe from shootings in a country lacking essential gun restrictions.

On the evening of September 3rd, shots were fired into the back sliding glass door of a home in Hillsborough. During that same night, another home had shots fired at the exterior of its second floor. When the shootings took place, the residents of the homes were present, but no injuries were reported.

Two days later, the rear sliding glass door of a third home was fired into. Similarly, the home was occupied at the time of the shooting, but no injuries were reported.

Days following the shooting, a suspect was taken into custody. The suspect, Ryan Vanderveer, an eighteen-year-old Hillsborough resident, was charged with three counts of attempted murder and weapon related offenses. Notably, a search warrant was executed on Vanderveer’s home where police discovered multiple firearms and ammunition.

Many of the town’s residents are left unsettled and in shock following the local shooting. The disturbed residents are questioning how the suspect could have gotten the gun and why he would shoot into these homes.

How did Vanderveer get the gun? How could such a dangerous event happen in such a historically safe town? The answer to both of these questions is that the U.S. simply does not have strict enough gun laws to prevent shootings.

In all 50 states, people have the right to keep and bear arms because of the second amendment. However, the amendment was created hundreds of years ago, and has proven to be outdated and a cause of the country’s current gun violence crisis.

Each state has different laws regulating who can purchase and possess guns. New Jersey has some of the strictest gun laws in the country, but as seen by recent events, even the sternest of regulations are not enough to prevent shootings.

From the strictest laws to the most lenient, shootings continue to happen everywhere in every state. The reality is that no matter the contrasting gun laws across the states, what remains constant among all is the right to bear arms, and as long as that right exists, it is inevitable that shootings will continue to occur and lives will continue to be lost.

Let the recent scare in Hillsborough be a warning to all that nowhere in the U.S. is immune to devastating shootings as long as the country lacks appropriate gun restrictions. Additionally, let this shooting as well as shootings that take place across the country be an eye-opener that the current gun laws are outdated and ineffective, and they must change for the safety of all American people.