Five Points. The USC School of Public Health building. The South Carolina State Fair.
These are all places many Gamecocks frequent. They are also all places that in the last few years have been sites of gun violence.
We don't go to these places planning for a gunshot to ring out. But that was what happened on Saturday, as a 15-year-old was shot at the fair.
Although the fair resumed normal operations on Sunday, we cannot act as if this is the new normal. It's impossible to prevent every act of gun violence, but we cannot act as if it should be a part of everyday life. Bullets flying is one of the scarier scenarios to imagine and it happens too often in familiar places for comfort.
Even though the fair had security measures in place such as metal detectors, bag checks and security cameras, this still happened. Even seemingly safe places such as schools, malls and grocery stores are falling victim to "normal" gun violence incidents.
We had a lively debate about gun violence and gun control Sunday night in our newsroom, but ultimately the solutions to these larger problems are not ones that can be figured out and implemented quickly or easily.
At a minimum, however, we as a society should insist on a reasonable degree of safety in public places.