At least five people were injured after being shot on Sunday night (18) in Shreveport, Louisiana, which marks the third gunshot attack in the United States in 24 hours and supports President Joe Biden’s speech, which the country is experiencing an epidemic of gun violence. Other occurrences have been reported from Austin, Texas, and Kenosha, Wisconsin.
According to Shreveport Police, the circumstances of the attack are not yet clear. Officers were dealing with what appeared to be a routine traffic event when the shooting started.
According to local media, more than 20 police vehicles were moved to the scene and dozens of cartridges were found on the ground in the parking lot of a medical clinic. At least one of the victims was shot in the head, but there is no confirmation of death.
In Austin, the Texas capital, police are still looking for a former sheriff who shot and killed three people in a condominium on Sunday morning. At first, authorities suspected another mass attack, but investigations concluded that it was a domestic incident.
The former sheriff has been identified as Stephen Broderick, 41. According to local media, he was put on administrative leave in June last year after being charged with child sexual abuse, a crime for which he was arrested and released after posting bail.
The third case of gun violence was recorded in Kenosha, Wisconsin. According to the police department, a person whose identity has not been revealed was kicked out of a bar in the city under unsolved circumstances and returned shortly after, by gunshot.
Three people died and three others were injured. The perpetrator has been arrested and will be charged with intentional murder – where there is intent to kill.
State Governor, Democrat Tony Evers, wrote in a Twitter post that Kenosha’s crime, which he called “an insignificant tragedy”, had left his “heart broken”.
“We are thinking of the affected families and loved ones and the entire community of Kenosha as they suffer and battle another tragic incident of gun violence,” he said.
Indianapolis police, where 19-year-old Brandon Hole, on Sunday, shot and killed eight people in a FedEx operations center last Thursday (15), confirmed that the young man, a former company employee, had legally purchased both. a few months after being temporarily arrested by FBI agents in a psychiatric unit.
Hole was arrested in March 2020 after his mother called the police, saying he could try to “kill himself by a cop”. The practice is to deliberately provoke a threatening situation – such as a shootout in a public place – of being killed by the police.
At the time, Hole was investigated by officers, but was eventually released after the investigation failed to identify any violations of the law. He had a hunting rifle seized, but according to records from the ATF, the government agency responsible for regulating firearms, he purchased two rifles in the following months, in July and September.
After the attack, the sniper committed suicide. Police are still investigating the motivation, but there is a suspicion that the crime has racial bias, as four of the eight victims were members of the Sikh community, a monotheistic religion that originated in India.
In 2020, there was an increase in the number of gun deaths in the country, with 19,380 killed and 39,427 gunshot wounds in the United States last year, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. Since 2016, this average has been around 15,000 deaths per year.
This year, the agency counts more than 150 gunshot attacks across the country, considering only incidents in which at least four victims were killed or injured by guns. April alone added 31 hits to the stats.
Earlier this month, Biden announced a series of measures to contain what he called the outbreak of gun violence in the country. Among the actions is a plan to prevent the spread of “ghost weapons”, kits with parts and instructions that allow the buyer to assemble their own weaponry “in less than 30 minutes”, thus avoiding the ‘inspection.
The president also announced that he would increase the regulation of “seat belts”, devices that support the arm and make the shot more precise and therefore more deadly. The perpetrator of the Boulder, Colorado attack, which killed ten people in a supermarket on March 22, used one of these devices.
Biden announced his proposals were a starting point and reinforced a demand in Congress for more comprehensive measures. Currently, two House-approved bills that provide for an extension of the background checks of those who buy guns over the Internet and an increase in the time between sale and delivery to ten days – which would give more than time to analyze the buyer’s story – awaiting a vote in the Senate.
However, increased control over access to arms is blocked in the Legislature by politicians linked to the Republican Party, who see the right to bear arms as a symbol of freedom and the vision of the country they defend. .
MAJOR WEAPONS LAWS IN THE UNITED STATES
1791
2nd constitutional amendment
It simply says: “A well-regulated militia, being necessary for the security of a free state, the right to keep and bear arms must not be infringed.”
1934
National Firearms Act
First federal law to regulate and tax the manufacture and sale of larger caliber weapons. The pistols were outside the rules.
1938
Federal Firearms Act
He demanded that manufacturers, importers and sellers of weapons be licensed to act and has prevented the sale of weapons to former convicts, among other categories.
1968
Firearms Control Act
He expanded the list of restrictions on purchases, determined that guns should have a registration number and vetoed imports except for sporting purposes – but without defining what would be “sporting purposes”.
1986
Firearms Owners Protection Act
He lifted several purchase restrictions, legalized the sale at gun fairs and relaxed the obligations on traders to keep records of products sold.
1993
Brady Act
Established a five-day window between purchase and delivery, to allow more time for customer background checks. In the following years, the standard was relaxed, and at present rapid assessment is allowed in many cases.
1994
Federal assault weapons ban
It banned the manufacture, sale and possession of semi-automatic weapons and greater firepower. The measure expired in 2004 and was not renewed.
2005
Law on the Protection of Legal Trade in Arms
He has banned manufacturers and sellers from prosecution if their products are used in crimes and now demanded that guns be transported and maintained safely.
2007
NCIS Improvement Amendments Act
He financially encouraged states to improve the databases to be consulted by sellers before handing over the weapons to buyers.