Gun violence plagued another weekend as eight people were killed in 11 mass shootings in several cities across the nation.
At least 45 people were wounded, among them two children ages 10 and 15, continuing a deadly onslaught that has become familiar and somewhat routine over the past few weeks, according to reports.
In a similar outburst of gun violence last weekend, 12 people were killed and 57 wounded in 10 mass shootings across seven U.S. states, according to the Gun Violence Archive, a nonprofit research group that defines them as any event involving the shooting of four or more people other than the assailant.
During a weekend in late May, at least seven people were killed and 23 victims wounded in separate mass shootings across the nation.
So far in 2021, there have been 293 mass shootings.
Sunday
DALLAS, TEXAS: Eight people in Dallas were shot and wounded shortly after midnight Sunday when people attending two separate parties at a strip mall in Old East Dallas became embroiled in a fight. A 15-year-old and 10-year-old were among the victims, although none of the injuries appear to be life-threatening. At least one victim had to undergo surgery, police said. No suspects have been taken into custody.
RICHMOND, VIRGINIA: Four people were wounded in a shooting in a parking lot where a large crowd had gathered in Richmond, Virginia, shortly before 1:30 a.m. Sunday. At least two of the victims suffered life-threatening injuries.
GRANGER, INDIANA: Gunfire erupted at a Juneteenth celebration about 4 a.m. Sunday at a bar in Granger, Indiana, killing a 26-year-old man and injuring four others, according to police. The wounded sustained non-life-threatening injuries and were expected to survive.
AURORA, COLORADO: Gunfire rang out Sunday at a Juneteenth celebration in a shopping mall parking lot in the Denver suburb of Aurora, Colorado, leaving one person dead and another four injured, according to police. The names of the victims — three men and one woman — have not been released. Multiple shooters are suspected, but no arrests had been made. Investigators collected more than 114 shell casings at the scene, according to reports.
ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY: A shooting Sunday night in Atlantic City, New Jersey, left one man dead and three other men wounded, according to authorities.
WILDWOOD, FLORIDA: One person was shot to death and multiple other people were wounded Sunday night at a Father’s Day event at a park in Wildwood, Florida, according to the Sumter County Sheriff’s Office. Authorities have not yet released the exact number of wounded and their conditions. One suspect was arrested, however, the motive remains unclear.
Saturday
BATON ROUGE: A shooting early Saturday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, left two dead and four injured, police reported. The victims were found in a parking lot, where an argument had escalated between two groups leaving a concert, and guns were drawn. The four wounded were expected to survive.
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA: A shooting early Saturday in Anchorage, Alaska, left one woman dead and four others wounded. The victims included three men and two women. There were no reports of an arrest.
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: Another four people were shot and wounded Saturday in Newark, New Jersey, reports said.
OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA: A shooting Saturday night at a party attended by about 1,000 people near Lake Merritt in Oakland, California, left one dead and at least six others wounded, according to the Oakland Police Department. The deceased was identified as a 22-year-old man from San Francisco. Two firearms were recovered, and two male suspects were taken into custody after trying to flee the scene on foot, however, it was unclear whether they had opened fire.
Friday
MINNEAPOLIS: Five people were shot and wounded Friday night in the Dinkytown neighborhood of Minneapolis. The suspect fled the scene, and three men and two women were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries. The incident follows another mass shooting in Minneapolis last month outside the Monarch nightclub that left two dead and eight others wounded.
Deadly wave continues
So far this year, a deadly wave of bloodshed across the country continues a staggering trend of mass shootings which have quickly rebounded to the forefront of American life as the coronavirus pandemic wanes.
The sudden resurgence in gun violence comes as more people are reemerging from pandemic lockdowns, whereas violence in 2020 mostly migrated from public spaces into homes, according to Hart Brown, senior vice president of R3 Continuum, a crisis management firm that helps counsel clients in the aftermaths of about 800 shootings a year.
“The environment that was created by the pandemic, with the social distancing, the lockdown, and so forth and the compounding stressors is really what’s driving much of the violence that we’re seeing right now,” he told Reuters.
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