But a bad year is still going on, with 6 months, 28 incidents, and 140 victims, according to the world! Massive killings in the United States set a shocking record with firearms | Scale | United States
On July 17th, China Daily reported that the ongoing bloodshed across the United States in 2023 has brought another cruel and disgraceful milestone - the past six months have been the most severe and deadly for large-scale killings in the United States since at least 2006.
The Associated Press reported on the 14th that from January 1st to June 30th, the United States experienced 28 large-scale killings, which is the worst so far. And, except for one incident, all 27 other incidents involved firearms. "Killed by strangers or shot by relatives. Whether in big cities or small towns, people are killed in their own homes or in broad daylight."
Screenshot of Associated Press report
The report further stated that there were one country, six months, 181 days, 28 large-scale killings, and 140 victims. The number of deaths is increasing almost every week, which is a continuous cycle of violence and grief.
The three children of Republican Brent Lightwood in the United States experienced the Nashville campus shooting on March 27th. "This is a terrifying milestone. You never thought your family might be part of such statistics," he said of the record breaking large-scale shooting incidents that have occurred in the United States over the past six months
According to reports, the state where Latherwood is located has not strengthened gun laws, but he believes that measures must be taken to make firearms disappear from the hands of those who may become violent.
It is reported that a database jointly established by the Associated Press, USA Today, and Northeastern University in the United States tracked large-scale violent incidents that have occurred in the United States since 2006, and the data for the first six months of 2023 broke previous records. The latest record was only set in the second half of 2022, with a total of 27 large-scale killings.
James Allen Fox, a criminology professor at Northeastern University, began overseeing and reviewing databases about 5 years ago, but he never expected such a shocking record to exist. "We used to say that there would be 2 to 30 cases per year, but now there are 28 cases within six months, which is staggering."
"Hopefully this is just a temporary phenomenon," said Amy Barnhoster, deputy director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, Davis and a psychiatrist. However, just during the Independence Day holiday weekend, there were more violent incidents in the United States.
According to the website of USA Today on the 15th, the frequency of gun violence in the United States has reached a frightening new high. According to data, including the Independence Day holiday weekend, there were a total of 30 large-scale killings in the United States in 2023, of which 29 involved firearms.
Screenshot of USA Today website report
However, the casualties caused by these events are only the tip of the iceberg. "A bad year is still going on," Fox said. "If the situation in the second half of this year is similar to the first half, then it will reach another high."
Among these large-scale killings, 8 occurred in public places. According to database data, all of these attacks were shooting incidents, resulting in a total of 50 deaths and 60 injuries.
Fox pointed out that the United States typically experiences 6 mass shootings in public places per year, with a maximum of 9 incidents occurring in a year. "We are currently only one less than in the highest year, but it has only been six months," he said.
According to reports, nowadays, more people in the United States are injured in large-scale shooting incidents every year. According to the Gun Violence Archive, an average of about 104 people in the United States are injured by gunshots every day.
Several experts, including Fox and Barnhoster, attribute the increase in bloodshed to the growth of firearms and population in the United States, but large-scale killings that make headlines are not common in statistics and only account for a small portion of the overall gun violence in the United States.
In addition, although large-scale killings often prompt Americans to try to reform gun laws, the actual situation always has little effect and is difficult to succeed. Despite an unprecedented number of killings, the National Rifle Association of the United States still strongly opposes the regulation of firearms, including the AR-15 automatic rifle and similar weapons.
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