CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Quinten Canty barely remembers a time before school shootings—and school lockdowns—were the norm.
"They'll go over the intercom and they'll say, 'lockdown, lockdown, lockdown'," Canty said. "What we're supposed to do is we're supposed to hide in the safest corner where no windows are or farthest away from the door. Some teachers encourage that we have people like holding desks and chairs."
Learning about school shootings, like Wednesday's shooting at a high school in Georgia, is an instance the junior at West Charlotte High School said is becoming too common.
"It's kind of like we're getting accustomed to it, and it's not supposed to feel like that," Canty said. "You're not supposed to get comfortable with knowing that there is violence occurring at your school."
Canty is involved in student government at his school to bring attention to issues like this—and the toll it can take on students' mental health.
"It affects how they come into school. It affects if they even want to go to school, because some people feel so unsafe to where they don't even want to come to school anymore, and that's affecting their education," Canty said.
Dr. Adrienne Saxton at Atrium Health said hearing about violence can be stressful for any age, but teens are likely to have more questions.
"It's very common, especially in the short term, in the aftermath of a tragedy like this, for children to experience a reduced sense of safety and a lot of fears and anxiety about whether this could happen in their school," Dr. Saxton said.
She encourages parents to have honest conversations with their teens, be open to answering questions, and seek other resources when necessary.
"It's normal and understandable to have these feelings," Dr. Saxton said. "Ask what questions they have and answer those questions as honestly as you can.