According to ABC news as of August 2019 the number of mass shootings outnumber the amount of days in the year so far. There has been an increase of mass shootings occurring each year over the past decade, despite anyone’s political views this is a serious issue occurring in the country that impacts everyone. This year alone, there have been 255 mass shootings.
The Gun Violence Archive defines a mass shooting as an incident where 4 or more individuals were shot or killed, not including the shooter.
This month, a mass shooting occurred in El Paso, Texas on August 4th. There were 22 deaths and another 24 injured. This is being investigated by the police as a possible act of “domestic terrorism”.
During an investigation, it was revealed that the shooter looked up to leaders of “white-nationlist” groups and the shooter seemed to have targeted mexican/hispanic individuals. Six victims of the shooting were Mexican nationals. According to CNN News, Mexico is declaring this as “an act of terrorism against mexican citizens”. This shooting is one of the top 22 most deadly shootings in U.S. history.
As one can see, high massacre shootings are not new to the US. The deadliest mass shooting occurred at a concert in Las Vegas in 2017, killing 58 and injuring over 700 in a matter of 15 minutes. The second most deadly shooting occured a year before that, where in Orlando Florida, 49 people were killed at the gay nightclub “Pulse”. In the last five years, out of all the mass shootings, there have been 12 in which 10 or more people were killed, with school shootings also being a large percentage of the total mass shootings that occur each year.
High-massacre shootings are causing outrage across the country, sparking heated debates over gun control laws. The country is waiting to see what action, if any, will be taken soon.