two new shootings left at least five dead and two dozen injured this weekend in USAfueling a wave of gun violence, as Congress seeks deals to restrict access to firearms.
The shootings, Saturday night in Philadelphia and early Sunday in Chattanooga, Tennessee, once again rocked a country grappling with an epidemic of gun violence that has already killed several thousand Americans this year and shows no signs. to decrease.
unknown
In Philadelphia, in the northeast, unknown gunmen opened fire on a crowd leaving three dead and 12 woundedindicated the police.
Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said one of the victims got into a fight with another man, which may have been the cause of the shooting. The other two were “innocent bystanders,” she added.
“Fourteen people (…) were hit by gunshots and hospitalized,” Inspector DF Pace had previously said, adding that “two men and one woman were declared dead after arriving at hospitals with multiple gunshot wounds.”
He added that officers on the scene “observed multiple active shooters opening fire on people” in the bustling South Street area.
An agent fired at one of the shooters, who dropped his weapon and fled, although it was not clear if he was hit, added Pace, who explained that two semi-automatic weapons and a high-capacity magazine were found at the scene.
One witness, Eric Walsh, described to the Philadelphia Inquirer people fleeing the shooting “with blood splattered on their white sneakers and skinned knees and elbows.”
more than one shooter
Meanwhile, the shooting of Chattanooga, in the southern state of Tennessee, left two dead and 12 injured, while another person died and two more were injured after being hit by vehicles fleeing the scene, said Police Chief Celeste Murphy.
“Several” victims are in critical condition, he added.
Murphy said “more than one shooter was involved” in the predawn incident that occurred near a nightclub in the center of this city of 180,000.
As of midday Sunday, no arrests had been made in either case, Murphy and the Philadelphia media said.
Gun violence has become commonplace in the United States, with more than a half-dozen shootings this weekend alone killing multiple people, according to the Gun Violence Archive.
But the shock he feels most after the recent mass shootings at a grocery store in Buffalo, New York, and an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, which left 10 and 21 dead respectivelyprompting bitter calls for action.
“Ya basta”
President Joe Biden He lashed out at Republicans who oppose restricting gun sales and deplored the fact that places like schools and hospitals “have become death camps, battlefields.”
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy is working with a bipartisan congressional group on a series of reforms. The job is hard because Republicans almost consistently reject most measures to regulate guns.
Murphy said Sunday that the group hopes to craft a bill that has the support of at least 10 Republicans, plus nearly all Democrats. “I think the chance of success is greater than ever,” he told the CNN. “But I also think that the consequences of a failure for our entire democracy are greater than ever.”
The measures, he said, would include “significant investment in mental health, funding for school safety and some small but strong changes to gun laws,” including tighter background checks on gun buyers.
While Republicans have for years blocked most efforts to control access to guns, some have recently spoken out in favor of change.
In Texas, a conservative, gun-loving state, more than 250 gun enthusiasts, including donors to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, signed an open letter supporting bipartisan reform efforts published as an ad in the Dallas Morning News.
The letter supports expanding background checks, raising the age to buy guns to 21, and creating “red flag” laws intended to keep guns out of the hands of people deemed at risk of violence.
According to a survey of CBS Newsa majority of Americans favor stricter rules for gun ownership, and 81% support background checks on potential buyers.
Faced with the reiteration of the acts of violence, Biden once again said “enough” on Sunday. “If we can’t ban assault weapons like we should, we should at least raise the age to 21” to purchase them, he tweeted.
(AFP)