Katy Perry breaks down over school shooting survivor’s American Idol audition

A TikTok video of an American Idol shooting survivor’s audition is going viral. Trey Louis’s story brought Katy Perry and the rest of the judges to tears, Today reports.

The 21-year-old auditioned in Santa Fe, Texas. They loved his voice but when they asked him about his motivation and love for music, his answer shocked them all. Trey Louis is a survivor of the 2018 Santa Fe high school shooting.

The viral TikTok shows Louis telling his tragic story to the judges. “As I said before,” he started, “I’m from Santa Fe, Texas.”

“In May 2018, a gunman walked into my school. I was in Art Room One and he shot up Art Room Two before he made his way to Art Room One. Lost a lot of friends. Eight students were killed. Two teachers were killed.”

You can see the shock on Lionel Richie’s face first. But, by the time Louis finishes recounting how many people died on that day, Katy Perry lays her head down on the table and starts sobbing.

“Our country has f****** failed us,” she yelled. “This is not OK! You should be singing here because you love music. Not because you had to go through that f****** bull****. You didn’t have to lose eight friends.”

The Santa Fe school shooting occurred on May 18, 2018. And, like so many other tragedies we’ve heard about since, the shooter was underage, a 17-year-old student, who brought a gun to school and changed so many lives.

“I hope that you remind people that we have to change, because, you know what? I’m scared too,” Perry said.

“We have tolerated this for so long, too long,” Lionel Richie said. “It’s become a norm.”

Related: An age-appropriate guide for how to talk to your kids about school shootings

According to the outlet, the judges encouraged Louis to be a leader in fighting for change. “For myself, for my school, for you, you got it,” Louis responded.

Our unfortunate reality is that we hear about these horrific shooting stories all too often. But to then see a survivor years later tell their story, it almost feels surreal. As in, how could we have let this happen? How could we continue to let this happen?

Related: Doctor breaks down in tears describing victims of the Michigan State shooting

As recently as February 14, a Sandy Hook survivor posted her own viral TikTok video. Not because she was hopping on a new trend or something else similarly happy but, because she had just survived a SECOND school shooting. That elementary school shooting survivor grew up and is now attending college at Michigan State University where she witnessed another school shooting. Not only does it seem cosmically unfair but it also reinforces the question, when will it finally be enough to change gun laws?

Trey Louis made it through to the next round and after leaving the room reportedly said, “It’s important for me to share my story from my hometown. For Parkland, for Columbine, for Las Vegas and so many others.”