Lorie Shaull https://www.flickr.com/photos/number7cloud/
Another day and another senseless killing of innocent American citizens by someone with a semi automatic rifle.
Two weeks ago it was a Christchurch massacre inspired shooter who went into a black area and indiscriminately killed ten people.
From CNN:
Ten people were killed in a racially motivated mass shooting at a supermarket in Buffalo on Saturday by a suspect in tactical gear who was livestreaming the attack, law enforcement officials said during a news conference.
The shooting occurred Saturday afternoon at a Tops Friendly Markets store. The suspect in the shooting, a White male, is in custody, police said. He was identified as Payton Gendron, 18, and pleaded not guilty to the first degree murder charge brought against him in court Saturday night, Buffalo City Court Chief Judge Craig Hannah tells CNN.
Thirteen were shot in the attack and 10 have died. Of those shot, 11 were Black and two were White, officials said.
The horror of what happened then was topped by the carnage that happened recently at a Texan elementary school. From Radio New Zealand:
The gunman who killed 19 children and two teachers at a Texas elementary school barricaded them in a single fourth-grade classroom, authorities said, as the deadliest US school shooting in a decade reignited debate over gun laws.
During the shooting on Tuesday, police circled Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, breaking windows in an effort to evacuate children and staff, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Chris Olivarez told CNN.
Officers eventually breached the classroom and killed the gunman, identified as 18-year-old Salvador Ramos.
Ramos began his rampage by shooting his grandmother at the home where he lived with his grandparents. He then drove to the nearby school where he crashed his car and entered the building wearing tactical gear and carrying a rifle, authorities said.
His grandmother survived but is in critical condition, and investigators hope she can shed light on a motive for the shooting. Multiple children were also injured, although authorities have not provided an exact tally.
Ramos purchased two rifles and hundreds of rounds of ammunition days before the attack, CNN reported, citing a state senator who had been briefed by law enforcement.
The authorities have had to use DNA samples to identify the kids, basically because they had their heads blown off with an assault rifle.
The tragedy has caused Democrats to stand up and demand action on gun control.
Senator Chris gave an impassioned speech in the senate asking why Republicans were there if they did not intend to improve things. He begged his colleagues to act. There is a bill requiring background checks that has been held up by a Republican filibuster.
And in Texas Democrat Governor candidate Beta O’Rourke gate crashed Governor Abbott’s press conference on the tragedy.
O’Rourke said:
You are doing nothing. You are offering up nothing. You said this was not predictable. This was totally predictable when you choose not to do anything.”
He was accused of politicising the issue which is weird because politics has stopped the issue being addressed in a proper way.
As for the Republican response, nothing has changed. Marjorie Taylor Green has called for a return to God, not gun control.
Ted Cruz joined in with claims that the Democrats were politicising the issue:
Inevitably when there’s a murder of this kind you see politicians try to politicize it,” he said. “You see Democrats and a lot of folks in the media whose immediate solution is to try to restrict the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens. That doesn’t work. It’s not effective. It doesn’t prevent crime.”
The experience of most of the Western World including New Zealand would suggest that Cruz’s claim is not correct.
Meanwhile with timing and geographical placement that could not be worse this weekend in Texas the NRA is holding its annual conference. And Donald Trump is a key speaker. There can be few if any less sensitive organisations on the planet today.
Powered by WPtouch Mobile Suite for WordPress