US President Biden announces the establishment of the White House Office for the Prevention of Gun Violence
On the 22nd local time, US President Biden announced the establishment of the first ever White House Office for the Prevention of Gun Violence to help reduce the prevalence of gun violence in the United States.
Biden's statement does not include new policy initiatives, but he stated that the new White House office will "concentrate, accelerate, and strengthen" the government's efforts to address gun violence.
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Foreign media: Tragedy of firearms and drugs becomes a tragedy in American society
According to the website of the Congressional Hill Daily on September 17th, data from the Gun Violence Archive website shows that there have been over 500 large-scale shooting incidents in the United States in 2023.
According to the Gun Violence Archive website, as of September 17, there have been 501 large-scale shooting incidents in the United States in 2023. Previously, the shooting incident that occurred in Denver, Colorado on the evening of September 16th was the 500th large-scale shooting incident in the United States this year.
The Denver Police Department stated that the shooting incident resulted in four people being taken to the hospital, followed by the discovery of a fifth victim. The police posted on X social media platform stating that it is expected that these injured individuals are not in life-threatening condition. As of the morning of the 17th, no one has been arrested.
According to reports, around 1am on the 17th, another shooting occurred in El Paso, Texas, USA, resulting in the death of a 19-year-old man and injuries to five others.
According to reports, the large-scale shooting that occurred in Monterey Park, California, USA in January this year was the deadliest shooting of the year. After the Lunar New Year celebration ended, 11 people were killed and 10 others were injured in a dance studio.
For shooting incidents with 4 or more casualties, the Gun Violence Archive website will record them as large-scale shooting cases. According to data from the Gun Violence Archive website, the total number of large-scale shooting incidents in 2023 is lower than the total for the past three years, but higher than 414 in 2019 and 335 in 2018.
In addition to gun violence, the proliferation of drugs is also troubling the United States.
According to the website of The Spanish on September 18th, the US Department of Homeland Security stated that by 2024, fentanyl will surpass terrorism as the biggest threat facing the United States.
According to reports, the term "fentanyl" may sound unfamiliar when it led to the death of the famous American musician "Prince" in 2016, but it has now become a focus of international attention. Fentanyl is an opioid drug that has long been used as an analgesic. Nowadays, the abuse of fentanyl has been regarded as an "epidemic" in the United States.
After releasing the 2024 Homeland Threat Assessment report, the US Department of Homeland Security concluded that fentanyl will surpass terrorism as the biggest threat facing the United States.
Regarding the issue of terrorism in the United States, the research report points out that the Department of Homeland Security expects the threat of violence from domestic radicals to remain at a high level, but will not significantly change. The main forms will be individual crime or small group attacks that occur without warning.
The report states that the US authorities have taken action to combat fentanyl. The recent "Operation Blue Lotus" and "Operation Four Riders" launched by the Department of Homeland Security have seized approximately 4500 kilograms of fentanyl in just two months. However, the Department of Homeland Security predicts that fentanyl will continue to be one of the main threats to domestic stability in the United States next year, as it will still cause more deaths than terrorism.
The above report states that this alert will be "long-term" for US homeland security. The Department of Homeland Security stated in a report that "in the United States, drugs cause much more deaths and injuries each year than terrorism." In the past year, drug traffickers have led to more fentanyl drugs appearing on the market, resulting in a continuous increase in the number of deaths caused by excessive use of fentanyl in the United States.
The report also points out that drug production and sales affect American communities through "providing support to violent criminal groups, money laundering activities, and corrupt practices that undermine the rule of law.".
According to official data, fentanyl is 50 times more effective than heroin and causes approximately 200 deaths per day in the United States. About two-thirds of the 107735 drug overdose deaths recorded in the United States in 2021 were caused by fentanyl.
