As of Tuesday, there have been at least 39 mass shootings in the United States since the beginning of the New Year, according to Gun Violence, a nonprofit organization that documents the spread of a so-called “American disease.”
A mass shooting is defined as an incident of gun violence in which at least four people, including the shooter, are shot dead. According to this institution, at least 70 people have died and 167 injured in mass shootings so far in 2023.
In the wake of the recent mass shootings, repeated calls for tighter federal gun control measures have been voiced, and government action, including in California, is pitted against the power of the Supreme Court, which has blocked several restrictions.
“We know the scourge of gun violence across America requires stronger action,” President Joe Biden said in a statement Tuesday, citing bills introduced by Senate Democrats Monday that include a “federal ban on assault weapons and Laws that would increase the minimum purchase age for assault weapons to 21”.
“Once again, I urge both houses of Congress to act quickly and put this assault weapons ban on my desk and take steps to keep America’s communities, schools, workplaces and homes safe,” he said.
Ten dead in a mass shooting at a California dance hall
The deadliest shooting of the year so far occurred during Saturday night’s Chinese New Year celebrations. Eleven people were killed when a gunman opened fire on a club in Monterey Park, a city with a large Asian-American population.
Ten hours later, in the early hours of Sunday morning, at least 12 people were injured after suffering a gunshot wound at a Louisiana nightclub. The incident was described as a “targeted attack”.
The next day, Monday, there was another mass shooting in California, the second major shooting in the state in three days. It left at least seven dead and one seriously injured in Half Moon Bay.
Several people were killed Monday in two related shootings at a mushroom farm and a trucking company in a coastal community south of San Francisco. Authorities have a suspect in custody.
Seven people were injured and one person killed in a shooting in Oakland, California Monday night, police said.