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Tag: Gun Violence

  • Over 600 mass shootings and 1,571 children killed in US in 2023 – Gun Violence Archive reports

    Over 600 mass shootings and 1,571 children killed in US in 2023 – Gun Violence Archive reports

    The United States has witnessed a surge of mass shootings in 2023, with at least 630 incidents reported so far, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit organization that tracks gun-related violence in the country.

    A mass shooting is defined by the Gun Violence Archive as an incident in which four or more people are shot or killed, not including the shooter. By this definition, at least 38 mass shootings where four or more people were killed have been reported so far this year.

    The Gun Violence Archive also reports that as of December 5, at least 1,571 children under the age of 18 have been shot and killed in 2023. This number includes both victims and perpetrators of gun violence, as well as accidental and intentional shootings.

    The issue of gun violence in the US has sparked heated debates over the need for stricter gun control laws and the protection of the right to bear arms. The US has the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in the world, with an estimated 393 million firearms in circulation, according to a 2018 study.

    Las Vegas was the scene of the deadliest mass shooting in US history in October 2017 when a gunman opened fire from his hotel room on the Las Vegas strip during the Harvest Music Festival, killing 59 and injuring more than 500. The motive for the shooting remains unknown, and the FBI closed its investigation in 2019 without finding a clear motive.

    The Gun Violence Archive is an independent non-profit organization that provides charts and maps of gun violence to visualize the impact of gun use across the country. The organization relies on media reports, law enforcement sources, and public records to collect and verify its data. The organization’s website states that its mission is “to provide free online public access to accurate information about gun-related violence in the United States”.

  • Shooting at MLK event in Florida, US, leaves eight people injured

    Shooting at MLK event in Florida, US, leaves eight people injured

    Ilous Ellis Park was hosting an MLK Car Show and Family Fun Day on Monday when the shooting occurred.

    One victim is listed in critical condition after being shot eight times during a Martin Luther King Jr. Day event in Florida, the US.

    According to WPBF-TV, the St. Lucie County Sheriff’s Office on Monday verified that every victim in the early-evening shooting in Fort Pierce was an adult.

    At 5:20 pm (22:20 GMT), while more than 1,000 people were attending the MLK Car Show and Family Fun Day at Ilous Ellis Park, a shooting took place.

    “Multiple people were shot;  it sounds like, from our initial investigation here on scene, there was a disagreement of some sort between two parties, and unfortunately, they chose to resolve that with guns,” St. Lucie County Chief Deputy Brian Hester said.

    Police added that four people, including a child, sustained non-life-threatening injuries.

    “It was mass chaos, as you can imagine, when shots rang out,” Hester said. “There were a 1,000-plus people here at the event, and as the shots rang out, people were just running in all directions.”

    Martin Luther King Jr Day is a federal holiday in the United States that takes place on the third Monday in January. It honours the life and legacy of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

    Video obtained by the station showed people ducking, running and hiding behind cars, including a woman running to safety while holding a baby.

    “It’s really sad in a celebration of someone who represented peace and equality that a disagreement results in a use of guns and violence to solve that disagreement, and that’s what’s really sad to me about what happened here,” Hester said.

    There were 648 mass shootings reported in the country last year, according to the US-based Gun Violence Archive.

    In June last year, US President Joe Biden signed the first major federal gun reform in three decades, a bipartisan compromise that came in light of numerous mass shooting in the country.

    The legislation is the most impactful firearms violence measure produced by Congress since the enactment of a long-expired assault weapons ban in 1993.

    It strengthened background checks, funded laws to remove firearms from people considered to be a threat and closed a loophole that allowed some people accused of domestic abuse to own guns.

  • Three dead, two injured in University of Virginia campus shooting

    Police identified a student, Christopher Darnell Jones, as the suspect, and warned people to remain sheltered in place.

    A shooting on the campus of the University of Virginia has killed three people and wounded two others, police said in a tweet.

    The university police identified a student, Christopher Darnell Jones, as the suspect, and said multiple agencies were engaged in an active search.

    Police also warned everyone to remain sheltered in place.

    “As of this writing, I am heartbroken to report that the shooting has resulted in three fatalities; two additional victims were injured and are receiving medical care,” university president James E Ryan wrote in a message to the community early on Monday morning.

    “We are working closely with the families of the victims, and we will share additional detail as soon as we are able.

    “Our University Police Department has joined forces with other law enforcement agencies to apprehend the suspect, and we will keep our community apprised of developments as the situation evolves.

    Classes for Monday were cancelled, and counselling and psychological support would be made available to students and faculty, Ryan added.

    Eva Surovell, the editor-in-chief of the Cavalier Daily student newspaper, told The Washington Post that people are “genuinely scared”.

    “The second we all got that message that there was an active shooter, my phone flooded with messages,” she said. “You just don’t really think something could happen like this to your community until it does.”

    This is not the first time that a university campus in Virginia has witnessed a shooting incident.

    In February this year, two campus police officers were shot dead at Bridgewater College after reports of a suspicious man near a school building.

    In 2007, Virginia Tech experienced one of the worst mass shootings in US history when an undergraduate student killed 32 people before shooting himself on April 16 of that year.

    Sunday’s shooting is the latest in a wave of gun violence on US college and high school campuses in recent years. The bloodshed has fuelled a debate over tighter restrictions on access to guns in the country.

    Source: Aljazeera.com 

  • North Carolina: Five people killed in a mass shooting in Raleigh

    Five people have been killed, including an off-duty police officer, and several more were injured in Raleigh, North Carolina officials say

    A suspect has been apprehended, according to police.

    The shooting occurred near the Neuse River Greenway, a popular trail on the outskirts of the state capital, the city’s mayor said.

    A motive is yet to be established, but Raleigh Police Lieutenant Jason Borneo said it would probably “come to bear” in the coming days.

    “Tonight, terror has reached our doorstep. The nightmare of every community has come to Raleigh,” North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper told a news conference.

    The shooting broke out just after 17:00 EDT (21:00 GMT).

    Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin later reported that the gunman was being “contained in a residence in the area” by police.

    Raleigh police then tweeted that the suspect had been taken into custody.

    The gunman, a “white male juvenile”, was taken into custody, Mr Borneo said.

    At least two other people including another police officer were wounded and taken to hospital, the mayor said.

    One victim remains in critical condition in the hospital, Lieutenant Borneo added.

    Mass shootings are a consistent problem in the US.

    More than 34,000 people have died in shootings in the US in 2022, more than half of which were from suicide, according to the Gun Violence Archive website.

    “We must stop this mindless violence in America. We must address gun violence. We have much to do, and tonight we have much to mourn,” Governor Cooper said.