A shooting episode along a beach boardwalk in Hollywood, Florida, left nine people injured and several others scrambling for cover on Memorial Day.
Many of those injured were transferred to a children’s hospital, according to Deanna Bettineschi, a police spokesman who spoke to the Associated Press. However, police are yet to announce the victims’ ages or any information about their current condition.
Preliminary investigation suggests that a confrontation between two groups resulted in firing. One suspect has been arrested, while another is still underway.
On Monday evening, videos released on Twitter showed emergency care staff responding to and treating many people with injuries.
The inquiry will be heavily staffed, according to police. Officials were also preparing an area for family members to reunite.
Hollywood Beach is a popular beach area located 11 miles (17 kilometres) south of Fort Lauderdale and 20 miles (32 km) north of Miami. With the Memorial Day vacation, the beach was expecting more people than normal.
BREAKING: There are reports of a mass shooting on Hollywood Beach in Florida. According to CBS, at least seven people were shot and some of the victims are young children.
Permitless carry became law in the state in April. pic.twitter.com/C8P7iGhxaR
— Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) May 30, 2023
America’s unique struggle with gun violence
According to the Gun Violence Archive, at least 13,959 people have died in the United States from gun violence as of May 1, 2023 – or around 115 people each day on average.
There have been 184 mass shootings in 2023 so far, which is defined by the Gun Violence Archive as an incident in which four or more victims are shot or killed. These mass shootings have led to 248 deaths and 744 injuries.
The majority of these deaths have taken place in Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, Illinois and Louisiana.
ALSO WATCH | Have mass shootings made the United States the most dangerous country to live in?
Alabama became the most recent state in the United States to eliminate the requirement for a state permit that includes a background check to carry a concealed handgun. In simple terms, a person no longer needs a license to legally carry a concealed handgun in public as per this law.
With this move, half of the 50 states in the US now let anyone carry handguns without a permit—a provision that was restricted to Vermont and Alaska 13 years ago.
As per Centers for Disease Control and Prevention firearm fatality data for 2020, the total number of deaths from firearm-related incidents in the US rose to 45,222 in 2020, the most the CDC has ever documented since it started keeping track of such deaths in 1968. This roughly translates to 124 individuals on an average dying from gun violence each day.
Rise in mass shootings in the US
Data from the Washington-based Gun Violence Archive shows that there were more than 600 mass shootings in the United States in 2022 alone, more than double the 336 mass shootings documented four years prior. A mass shooting is defined roughly as any incident in which four or more individuals, excluding the perpetrator, are shot or killed.
(With inputs from agencies)
