I fear that my 14-year-old son, who’s the same age as many of the young people whose lives ended so abruptly when they were gunned down in Florida, will be a victim of gun violence at school if acts of cruelty to animals are not addressed.

The link between killing animals and violence against humans is indisputable, and nearly every, if not all, serial killer and mass murderer has first “practiced” their crimes on animals. Nikolas Cruz reportedly bragged about shooting rats, lizards, squirrels, and chickens. His Instagram account appeared to show a dead frog’s bloodied corpse. And chillingly, a neighbor claims to have witnessed Cruz jam long sticks into rabbit holes, shoving them down as hard as possible to kill any animals trapped inside.