USA: The list of tragic shootings continues to grow

At least six people were killed Saturday night in the United States in a series of shootings as U.S. lawmakers debated whether to adopt a gun control framework.

After a series of tragic events that were not even extensively covered by the American press, with the exception of the massacre in elementary school in Texasmany gunmen opened fire on the crowd in one busy street of philadelphia. The bullets hit 14 people, three of whom were killed, according to police.

Police Inspector Daniel Outlo said one of the dead had clashed with one of the gunmen, while the other two victims were “innocent passers-by”.

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, two people were killed by gunfire and another 14 were injured in a nightclub shooting. A third succumbed to his injuries after being hit by a car as he tried to leave the bar.

“More than one perpetrator was involved in the incident,” said Chattanooga police chief Celeste Murphy, noting that “many people” remain in hospital in critical condition.

In both cases, police have not yet made any arrests, according to local media.

Shootings have risen in the United States, with the worst happening at Rob Elementary School in Texas on May 24, when 19 children and two teachers were killed.

Last weekend alone, the Axios website counted a total of at least 11 dead and 54 wounded in shootings with multiple casualties.

Violent incidents broke out, for example, during high school graduation ceremonies.

In Philadelphia, police said they found two semi-automatic weapons at such a celebration, one of which had a large-capacity magazine.

“Enough”

Democratic President Joe Biden wants Congress, if it can not ban them, to raise the legal age for the purchase of automatic weapons from 18 to 21.

Democratic Sen. Chris Murphy is working in that direction with a group of lawmakers from both parties. A difficult task as Republicans systematically reject measures aimed at imposing a regulatory framework on gun ownership.

Murphy said Sunday that the group hopes to draft a series of bills that could have the support of at least 10 Republicans before they can be approved by the Senate.

“I think the odds are better than ever,” he told CNN.

The measures that are being worked out include, according to him, “some modest, but important, changes in the laws on firearms”, among which the most thorough control of potential buyers.

According to a CBS News / YouGov poll published yesterday, the majority of Americans are in favor of tightening gun control rules and in favor of banning semi-automatic weapons.

But the poll revealed the extent to which the issue, like others, is deeply divisive in Americans.

72% of Democrat supporters believe that the country would be safer if fewer weapons were circulated. Nearly half (46%) of Republican voters said the nation’s security would be strengthened if more Americans had guns.

There were 393 million firearms in the United States in 2020, more than the country’s population. Since the beginning of this year, 18,574 people have been killed by gunfire, of whom 10,300 have committed suicide, according to the Gun Violece Archive.

In addition to the Texas massacre, there have been a number of particularly bloody gun incidents in the United States.

On May 14, a white man who described himself as “racist” and “anti-Semitic” killed 10 African-Americans at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York.

Four people have been killed in a shooting at a Tulsa hospital in Oklahoma. The perpetrator targeted a doctor who had operated on him in the middle and held him responsible for the pain he suffered, according to police.