THE residents of Parkland, Florida, as well as former and present students and teachers of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in the town, will never forget the day 17 people were killed eight years ago by a former student.

It was a terrible incident that led on the news in Britain and Ireland for several days, with wall-to-wall coverage on BBC, RTÉ and other broadcast media outlets that allowed viewers to get to know the names of the deceased.

We heard of their personal stories, their dreams and hopes for a future that were cruelly denied, as well as interviews with grieving parents and friends.

Earlier this week, a much greater massacre was visited upon the Shajareh Tayyebeh school community in the town of Minab in Iran, when as many as 165 schoolgirls had their lives taken in an obscene act of mass murder, when precision bombs dropped by the American/Israeli axis struck the all-girls’ primary school.

Denis Bradley: Thank you John Taylor for transforming the Irish unity debate

Chris Donnelly: Why the world remembers the 17 victims of Parkland but not the 165 schoolgirls of Minab

It has since been reported that the deadly attacks were the consequence of double tap bombs, meaning the first deadly attack was followed shortly afterwards by a second aimed at killing any survivors. The principal, teachers and school kids stood no chance.

In harrowing video footage shared online, the piercing screams of mothers frantically searching for their daughters........

© The Irish News