More than 150 people were killed across America over Memorial Day weekend as gun violence ramped up across the country just days after the Uvalde school massacre that killed 19 children and two teachers.
There were at least 14 “mass shootings” in the United States over the weekend, from early Friday morning through late Monday, according to the Gun Violence Archive, an institute that tracks shootings in the country.
At least nine people were killed in the mass shooting and more than 60 people were injured, according to the archive, which defines mass shootings as incidents in which at least four people are shot and injured or killed, with no gunman included.
A total of 156 people were killed and 412 injured by gun violence over Memorial Day weekend.
Philadelphia and Chicago experienced the worst shootings, with 20 fatal gunshots, with 12 killing in Pennsylvania’s largest city and 8 in the Windy City.
In Oklahoma, a 26-year-old man opened fire in a mass shooting at a Memorial Day festival, killing a 39-year-old woman and injuring seven victims.
Pictured: A map showing the states that had the highest number of gun violence deaths over the weekend, which totaled more than 150 people killed in the United States
The deadly weekend came just a week after 19 elementary school students and two teachers were massacred by an 18-year-old man with an AR-15 rifle in Uvalde, Texas.
Salvador Ramos carried out the deadliest US school massacre since the Sandy Hook shooting nearly a decade ago as he rampaged at Robb Elementary School before being shot dead by police.
Kicking off the gun control debate in a speech from the White House late Tuesday, just hours after the shooting, Joe Biden said it was time to “put pain into action” and asked voters, “When in God’s name.” shall we stand up to the gun lobby?”
Texas Senator Ted Cruz has been at the forefront of the opposition, reiterating time-honored arguments that “fighting fugitives, criminals and villains,” rather than the constitutional right to bear arms, is the key to reducing violence.
Cruz is one of 50 Republican senators working to block progress on two gun control laws passed by House Democrats in 2021.
The first would increase background checks on people wanting to buy guns, and the second would extend the period for gun purchase verification to 10 days.
Eight dead in Chicago
At least eight people were killed and 32 injured over Memorial Day weekend in Chicago, according to the archives.
A man was shot in the head in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood at 1:31 p.m. Saturday and later died at Advocate Christ Medical Center, NBC5 reported.
Two other men, 29 and 28, were fatally shot when they opened fire on each other at 5:04 p.m. Saturday in the Englewood neighborhood. They later died at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
A man was shot in the head and body while standing on a sidewalk in South Carpenter at 1.05am Sunday.
A fifth fatal shooting occurred at 6:40 a.m. Sunday in West Madison when a 33-year-old man was shot dead while driving eastbound.
Five were also injured in a mass shooting near Daniel Webster Elementary School, The Tribune reported.
This booking photo provided by the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation shows Skyler Buckner, 26, on Sunday, May 29, 2022
Oklahoma man turns himself in
Authorities said a 26-year-old man was in custody after a shootout killed one person and injured seven people in a shootout at an outdoor festival in east Oklahoma on Saturday night, where witnesses described desperate people running for cover amid gunfire ran.
A warrant was issued for Skyler Buckner’s arrest and he turned himself in to the Muskogee County Sheriff’s Office Sunday afternoon, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation said in a statement.
OSBI said those shot dead at the Memorial Day event in Taft, about 45 miles southeast of Tulsa, ranged in age from nine to 56.
A 39-year-old woman was killed, OSBI said. The injuries to the injured were not considered life-threatening.
One woman said she was lucky to escape the bullets as she ducked for cover as her food was hit
Shooting in Memphis leaves one dead
One person was killed and six others injured in a shooting on East Shelby Drive in Memphis, Tennessee, at 6:30 p.m. Saturday.
Two male victims were taken to Regional One Health in critical condition, where one died, according to the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Two people suffered gunshot wounds in another shooting near the intersection of Chelsea Avenue and Peres Avenue at 11 p.m. Saturday.
Two killed in New York City
Two people were killed in separate shootings in New York City over Memorial Day weekend, police said.
Donovan Davy, 45, was shot dead in Brooklyn and pronounced dead at Kings County Hospital, the New York Post reported.
Elsewhere, a victim was killed at an apartment complex in Brownsville, Brooklyn.
A man was shot dead in Queens before 12 a.m. Sunday, and three others were shot in Brooklyn.
Four dead in Maryland
Gunfire rang out at an amphitheater in Inner Harbor, Baltimore, at 7:35 p.m. Saturday, killing a 17-year-old boy, The Baltimore Sun reported.
In addition, two men were killed in a triple shooting on Saturday night and a woman was fatally shot.
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said: “I am disgusted that this plague continues to afflict our city.
“I will continue to urge every public safety agency to do more, but it will also require all of us to say together that enough is enough that we will not accept or allow violence in our city.”
12 fatal shots in Philadelphia
At least 12 people were killed in Philadelphia, including a nine-year-old boy, while 12 people were injured.
A man, between the ages of 18 and 21, died of his injuries in Overbrook on Sunday afternoon.
Another 30-year-old man was shot in the Mill Creek neighborhood and died of his wounds.
There was a double shooting in Kensington that killed one man, a 49-year-old man was fatally shot in North Philadelphia at 9:30 a.m. Sunday, and a man was also killed in East Germantown.
News crews are filming Sunday in Taft, Oklahoma, at the scene of the deadly shooting, where bullets hit food trucks
In the Wissinoming neighborhood, a father and his nine-year-old son were killed in a car shootout, according to NBC Philadelphia.
The shooting took place around 10:30 p.m. on Carver Street. Police also said multiple guns were involved and multiple shots were fired.
A one-year-old boy was killed in another drive-by shooting in downtown Pittsburgh.
One adult dead and three injured in California
An adult died and three teenagers were injured in Fresno, California.
Police responded to gunfire and found several victims with gunshot wounds, Your Central Valley reported.
One was killed at a graduation ceremony in Atlanta, Georgia
One person was killed at a graduation ceremony at the Park Lane Event Center in Atlanta, Georgia.
More than 200 teenagers celebrated the occasion when a gunman opened fire, injuring two others.
Akeem Ellison, 18, later died at Upson Regional Medical Center, but police have not yet made any arrests.
A dead man in Florida
One person was killed in the exact same Florida nightclub where a victim was killed three years earlier.
Shots were fired at the Club Blue Lounge in Tampa around 3 a.m. Sunday, according to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office.