Two mass shootings during the weekend in the United States pushed the country to a grim record of mass killings. According to a report by The Washington Post on Monday (Dec 4), the shootings in Texas and Washington last Sunday were the 37th and 38th shootings this year in which four or more victims were killed, the highest number of mass killings since at least 2006.
In 2022, 36 mass shootings were reported, which was then the highest record.
The shootings
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In Dallas, a 21-year-old man who was previously charged with aggravated assault shot four people including a toddler inside a house. A teenage girl was hospitalised with bullet wounds, the police said, according to a report by ABC News. The shooting occurred on Sunday afternoon in a neighbourhood in southeast Dallas. The police said the killings stemmed from an isolated incident and there was no threat to the public.
Meanwhile, in Washington’s Vancouver, five members of a family died in their home in what authorities said was an apparent murder-suicide. Reports suggested that a man shot his wife, two daughters, and his brother before killing himself.
In a statement, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said it was contacted by a person requesting welfare on Sunday afternoon after “receiving a text message from a family member stating they had harmed others at the residence.”
Shootings increased in recent years
The Washington Post report on Monday said that the killings in Dallas and Washington brought this year’s death toll to 197. Ninety-one people were injured this year but they survived, the report added.
The publication further said that mass shootings increased in 2019 but dropped next year due to Covid pandemic restrictions. However, as restrictions were relaxed and daily life gradually returned to normal, the frequency of the deadliest shootings went up.
This year as well as every year since 2006, the largest number of mass killings occurred in private homes or shelters. This year, 26 of the 38 shootings occurred in homes or shelters.
Speaking to the publication, Thomas Abt, founding director of the Center for the Study and Practice of Violence Reduction, said that the record is a tragic, shameful milestone that should — but probably will not — serve as a wake-up call to politicians opposing gun regulations.
Abt, who is also an associate research professor at the University of Maryland, said, “The rise in mass shootings is driven by many factors, but increasingly easy access to firearms is the primary cause.”
(With inputs from agencies)
