3 multiple shootings in U.S. within 24 hours

Five people were shot Sunday night in Shreveport, Louisiana, the third multiple shooting reported in the U.S. within 24 hours.

Police were responding to traffic congestion reports when shots were heard, according to Reuters.

“We responded this evening to a traffic congestion, and during that congestion, numerous shots were fired,” a police spokesman said. One victim was shot in the head, while another suffered multiple gunshot wounds, according to local news outlet Love Shreveport-Bossier.

WARNING: GRAPHIC LANGUAGE BELOW

The shooting happened on Hearne Avenue, according to KSLA. All five victims were admitted and treated at local hospitals.

Besides the Shreveport shooting, three people died Sunday at an apartment complex in Austin, Texas. On Monday, authorities apprehended a former deputy sheriff wanted in connection with the shooting.

Three people were killed and two wounded in a shooting at a bar in Kenosha County, Wisconsin, early Sunday. Last week, a gunman killed eight workers and himself at an Indianapolis FedEx warehouse center.

Indianapolis police said Brandon Scott Hole, 19, legally bought the two rifles used in the attack despite red flag laws designed to prevent such purchases.

A trace of the two guns found by investigators at the scene revealed that Hole legally bought the rifles in July and September, officials with the Indianapolis police said Saturday.

The police did not say where Hole bought what they described as “assault rifles,” citing the ongoing investigation, but said he was seen using both rifles during the shooting.

On Monday, the Indiana prosecutor assigned to the case said Hole never had a red-flag hearing, even after his mother reportedly warned police after her son allegedly threatened suicide.

Similarly, the man accused of going on a shooting rampage at a Southern California business, killing four people, should not have been allowed to buy or own guns because of a California law that prohibits people from purchasing weapons for 10 years after being convicted of a crime.

Aminadab Gaxiola Gonzalez was convicted of battery in 2015, which should have kept him from possessing or buying guns or ammo at stores that conduct background checks. While it’s unclear how Gaxiola, 44, acquired the weapons used in the March 31 shooting, the tragedy raises concerns over California’s ability to enforce strict gun control laws, the Sacramento Bee reported on Friday,

Police say Gaxiola had targeted Unified Homes, the mobile home brokerage company in Orange, and had personal and business relationships with the victims. His estranged wife had worked in the business for more than 10 years as a broker assistant.

Earlier this month, President Joe Biden declared gun violence in the U.S. “an epidemic” and “an international embarrassment,” and announced a series of executive actions that, he said, are designed to address gun violence in the U.S.

Biden also called on Congress to pass several gun measures now under consideration, as well as a ban on assault rifles with large-capacity magazines in the U.S.

Three months into his presidency, Biden’s robust agenda is running up against the realities of his narrow Democratic majority on Capitol Hill and the Senate’s limited ability to tackle multiple pieces of large-scale legislation at once.

With the White House focusing first on a sweeping coronavirus relief package and now a sprawling infrastructure plan that is likely to dominate the congressional calendar for months, issues like gun control and police reform appear likely to take a back seat.

Biden on Friday insisted that wasn’t the case, saying that on the issue of gun control in particular, “I’ve never not prioritized this.”

At issue for Biden are many of the central promises he made to Democratic voters — particularly Black voters who helped propel him to the White House — both about his priorities and his ability to maneuver in Washington, where issues like gun control have languished for years. The mass shootings, as well as renewed focus on police killings of Americans of color following incidents in Chicago and a Minneapolis suburb, have increased demands for action.