This blog article provides a legal Analysis and Commentary in the context of mass shootings and the need to repeal the Second Amendment, ban assault weapons, regulate militias and on what responsible gun control legislation should be enacted on the federal and state levels.
MASS SHOOTINGS
In just 4 months, the United States has seen at least 147 mass shootings in 2021 according to data from the “Gun Violence Archive” (GVA) a non-profit based in Washington. A link to the statics is here:
https://www.gunviolencearchive.org/reports/mass-shooting
According to GVA, starting on March 16, when 8 people were killed at 3 Atlanta-area spas, the US had at least 45 mass shootings in just one month. CNN compiled a list of the shootings and you can review them in the postscript below in reverse order from most recent to the latest.
On April 16, 2021, when 8 people were killed in the mass shooting at an Indianapolis FedEx facility, the total killed within the month was 53.
On April 8, President Joe Biden, accompanied in the Rose Garden by Vice President Kamal Harris and Attorney General Merrick Garland, proclaimed in a Rose Garden press conference:
“Gun violence in this country is an epidemic. And it’s an international embarrassment”.
Biden announced Executive Orders to deal with gun violence. Biden repeatedly argued that his executive actions do nothing to impinge on the Second Amendment right to bear arms.
The Executive Orders are limited in scope and fall short of what Biden vowed to pressure Congress to take. The orders do fulfill his March pledge to take “common-sense” steps on his own after a number of shootings that occurred in March. One order directly relates to the March shooting in Boulder, Colorado where a device known as an arm brace was used. Biden is ordering heavy regulation of arm braces used to make firing a pistol more accurate.
EXCUTIVE ACTIONS
Taken together, the actions amount to the first real steps by the Biden administration to combat gun violence. The executive actions include:
1. Efforts to restrict weapons known as “ghost guns” that can be built using parts and instructions purchased online. Ghost guns are handmade or self-assembled firearms that don’t have serial numbers. Some can be fabricated in as little as 30 minutes using kits and individual parts purchased online that do not require a background check, meaning they can essentially be bought by anyone. Biden wants the kits to be treated as firearms under the Gun Control Act. Key parts of the gun making kits would be required to have serial numbers so they can be traced. The act would also require background checks for people purchasing kits.
2. New investments in intervention programs in violence-prone communities
3. A directive to the Justice Department to publish model “red flag” laws for states that allow the temporary removal of guns from people deemed at high risk of harming themselves or others. Last year, the New Mexico Legislature enacted a “red flag” law.
4. On order is for a comprehensive report on firearms trafficking.
President Biden also announced that he is nominating gun control advocate David Chipman to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, which hasn’t had a permanent director in place since 2015.
Biden emphasized the announcements only amount to the first steps toward addressing gun violence, with later action, such as a ban on assault weapons or rules requiring universal background checks, requires Congressional action.
Biden, who is in the midst of implementing a national corona virus inoculation program and advancing a massive infrastructure plan, has previously voiced uncertainty on the likelihood of passing major new gun laws.
SECOND AMENDMENT TO THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION
American voters have already said “enough is enough” when it comes to gun violence and they are demanding responsible gun control by congress and state legislatures. The Second Amendment is always cited by gun advocates.
The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution provides in full:
“A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
On January 14, 1990, Warren Burger, Conservative US Supreme Court Chief Justice, (1969-86) had this to say about the Second Amendment:
“The Gun Lobby’s interpretation of the Second Amendment is one of the greatest pieces of fraud, I repeat the word fraud, on the American People by special interest groups that I have ever seen in my lifetime. The real purpose of the Second Amendment was to ensure that state armies – the militia – would be maintained for the defense of the state. The very language of the Second Amendment refutes any argument that it was intended to guarantee every citizen an unfettered right to any kind of weapon he or she desires. “
Over many years, former Chief Justice Burger often said that the “right to bear arms” belongs to the states to regulate. He attacked the National Rifle Association (NRA) for promoting the opposite view with political manipulation using political donations to exert influence over America’s elected officials, especially Republican law makers.
Burger wrote in 1990 that the Second Amendment grew out of the founding fathers’ political philosophy that a state military force was necessary to protect the security of the state. He often quoted Elbridge Gerry, one of the founders and eventually James Madison’s vice president, as arguing that a state militia was necessary “to prevent the establishment of a standing army, the bane of liberty.” Burger acknowledged that after 200 years of national defense, the role played by state militias was overshadowed and said:
“A state militia, like a rifle and powder horn, was as much a part of life as the automobile is today; pistols were largely for officers, aristocrats – and dueling.”
https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/supcourt/stories/courtguns051095.htm
LANDMARK UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT CASE
Former Chief Justice Warren Burger passed away on June 25, 1995 at the age of 87. He likely turned over in his grave when in 2008, the United States Supreme court issued its ruling in the case District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008). The Heller decision was the very first US Supreme Court case to decide whether the Second Amendment protects an individual’s right to keep and bear arms for self-defense or if the right was intended strictly for state militias.
The US Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional the District of Columbia’s handgun ban and requirement that lawfully owned rifles and shotguns be kept “unloaded and disassembled or bound by a trigger lock” violated the second amendment to the US Constitution. The landmark decision ruled the Second Amendment to the United States Constitution protects an individual’s right to keep and bear arms even if those arms are unconnected with service in a militia, for traditionally lawful purposes, such as self-defense within the home.
Second Amendment advocates always ignore that the case District of Columbia v. Heller also made it very clear that the right to bear arms is not unlimited and that guns and gun ownership can be regulated. The Supreme Court said in Heller that restrictions on the possession of firearms by felons and the mentally ill, on the carrying of arms in sensitive locations, and with respect to the conditions on the sale of firearms could be permissible under the constitution.
Instead, Second Amendment advocates cry out that they should be able to buy and sell guns of whatever type of gun they want, from whomever they want, and carry them and use them however they want because they are “responsible law-abiding citizens” and not criminals.
PANDEMIC OF GUN VIOLENCE DEATHS AND MASS SHOOTINGS
According to the “Gun Violence Archive”, the number gun violence death has spiked going from 12,356 deaths in 2014 to 19,378 in 2020. Following are the numbers:
2014: 12,356 killed
2015: 13,571 killed
2016: 15,121 killed
2017: 15,718 killed
2018: 14,885 killed
2019: 15,442 killed
2020: 19,378 killed
https://www.businessinsider.com/2020-more-gun-deaths-than-any-year-over-two-decades-2021-3
According to the “Gun Violence Archive”, the number of mass shootings incidents for the last 7 years has more than double going from 269 mass shootings to 611 mass shootings in one year.
Following are the numbers:
2014: 269 mass shootings
2015: 335 mass shootings
2016: 382 mass shootings
2017: 346 mass shootings
2018: 336 mass shootings
2019: 417 mass shootings
2020: 611 mass shootings
https://theconversation.com/mass-shootings-in-the-us-have-risen-sharply-in-2020-why-150981
The on-line publication Mother Jones has compiled a database of mass shooting from 1982 to the present. The data base is broken down by location, date, summary of the facts, the number of fatalities, and the number of injured. You can review the entire Mother Jones data base here:
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/mass-shootings-mother-jones-full-data/
According to Mother Jones the mass shooting with guns in the last 11 years include: Orlando, Florida (49 killed, 50 injured), Blacksburg, Va. (32 killed), San Ysidro, Cal (21 killed), San Bernardino, (14 killed), Edmond Oklahoma (14 killed), Fort Hood (13 killed), Binghamton, NY (13 killed) Washington, DC (12 killed), Aurora, Colorado (12 killed), Sandy Hook Elementary School, Newtown, Conn (21 children and 6 adult staff members killed) and the largest mass shooting in this country’s history that occurred in Las Vegas, Nevada with at least 59 dead and at least 515 wounded and the Parkland/Stoneridge High School shooting that resulted in 17 children’s deaths, El Paso, Texas, 23 dead and 23 injured, Atlanta, Georgia (Atlanta Message Parlor) 10 killed, Boulder, Colorado (Boulder Supermarket) 8 killed.
“The deadliest mass shootings … have had one thing in common: the perpetrator used an assault rifle. These weapons possess an incredible amount of killing power, and amplify the destructive will of the person who carries out an attack. Nine people died and 27 were injured in a mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio in an attack that lasted 32 seconds. The killer used an AR-15 style assault rifle. Since 1999, there have been 115 mass shootings in which 941 people were killed and 1,431 were injured. Of those 115 attacks, 32 — just over a quarter — involved semi-automatic rifles. But those attacks accounted for 40% of all deaths and 69% of all injuries. Since 2017, 12 of the 31 mass shootings involved assault rifles — which caused 39% of the deaths and 92% of the injuries. That includes the Las Vegas massacre — which alone accounts for almost 40% of all mass shooting injuries since 1999. The perpetrator of that shooting used over 20 assault rifles during that attack.”
https://www.axios.com/deadliest-mass-shootings-common-4211bafd-da85-41d4-b3b2-b51ff61e7c86.html
OVERWHELMING PUBLIC SUPPORT FOR GUN CONTROL
A Wall Street Journal- NBC News poll was conducted between August 10 to 14, 2019 after the mass shootings in El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio. The poll found that an overwhelming majority of Americans favor Congress expanding background checks for firearm sales, passing “red flag” laws and instituting a voluntary buyback program.
According to the poll, overall, the public remains divided over the government’s role in gun control, despite widespread support for those specific measures. 50% of Americans say they’re more concerned that the government won’t go far enough to regulate access to firearms, while 45% are more concerned gun control laws will be too restrictive. Only 46% of the 834 registered voters surveyed have a gun in their household.
Highlights of the poll are:
89% say they favor Congress expanding background checks to all firearm sales and transfers.
76% back “red flag” laws that help law enforcement temporarily remove guns from those deemed to pose a danger to themselves or others.
75% support a voluntary program where the government would buy back firearms that people no longer want.
62% favor banning the sale of selected semi-automatic firearms referred to as assault weapons.
25% support banning the sale of handguns.
Methodology: The NBC/WSJ poll was conducted Aug. 10–14 of 1,000 adults — more than half reached by cellphone — and it has an overall margin of error of ±3.1 percentage points. The margin of error for the 834 registered voters interviewed is ±3.4 percentage points.
UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT EXPANDS SECOND AMENDMENT
Over the years, the United State Supreme Court has expanded the Second Amendment right to right to keep and bear arms. It is referred to as the “right to bear arms” as a right for people to possess weapons or arms for their own defense.
In United States v. Cruikshank (1876), the U.S. Supreme Court recognized that the right to arms preexisted the Constitution and, in that case, and in Presser v. Illinois (1886) recognized that the Second Amendment protected the right from being infringed by Congress.
In United States v. Miller (1939), the Court again recognized that the right to arms is individually held and, citing the Tennessee case of Aymette v State, and indicated that it protected the right to keep and bear arms that are “part of the ordinary military equipment” or the use of which could “contribute to the common defense.”
In its first opportunity to rule specifically on who’s right the Second Amendment protects, District of Columbia v. Heller (2008), the Court ruled in the landmark case that the amendment protects an individual right “to keep and carry arms in case of confrontation,” not contingent on service in any militia.”
JUDICIAL ACTIVISM
Republicans and right-wing conservatives are always the very first to scream out “judicial activism” whenever the United States Supreme Court expands or interprets the United States Constitution as protecting civil rights or privacy rights that are actually not outlined nor contained in the United States Constitution. The best example is the constant and relentless attack on the landmark case of Roe v. Wade that held that state bans on abortions were unconstitutional and the court protected a woman’s right to choose.
The outcry of “judicial activism” was nowhere to be heard from Republicans and conservatives when the Heller decision essentially ignored the specific language that the Second Amendment that deals with “well-regulated Militia militias.” It was the United States Supreme Court that decided to ignore the intent and purpose of the Second Amendment and expand it to apply to all citizens which was not necessary given the prior United States Supreme Court decisions of United States v. Cruikshank (1876) and United States v. Miller (1939) highlighted earlier in this article.
HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF SECOND AMENDMENT
A point all too often overlooked by the NRA and the defenders of the Second Amendment is the historical context of when the Second Amendment was enacted and the advancement of our technology to make and wage war. Simply put, times change, scientific advancements are made and fiction becomes a reality.
When the Second Amendment was enacted, the mode of transportation was horseback, flint locks were used to defend and wage war, there were no planes and no satellites. All mankind could do is look to the stars through telescopes. Life expectancy was around 50 years old if you survived childbirth and if you were lucky, you did not die of disease.
Today, our mode of transportation are cars, massive ships and jet airplanes. The US defends itself with nuclear warheads and cruise missiles. The United States has gone to the moon and back more than once. Medical advances are allowing people to live into their nineties, some over 100 and organ transplants are common place.
Sooner rather than later, gunpowder will be replaced by technology. No doubt Second Amendment advocates will want to hold a weapon of mass destruction in their hands like seen in Star Trek or Star Wars. It is not at all hard to imagine in 100 years an NRA member, if the NRA is even still around, and Second Amendment rights advocate going into a gun store and asking to buy the updated, hand held “Laser Death Star 100” saying it’s needed for the weekend hunt and proclaiming “My Laser Death Star 100 can take out an entire herd of elk, butcher it, cook it and make jerky out of it with just one shot!”
SECOND AMENDMENT CAN BE REPEALED
The purpose and intent of why the United States Constitution allows for amendments is contained in our Declaration of Independence when it says:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.–That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.“
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/declaration-transcript
The “right to bear arms” is NOT a right embodied or guaranteed in the original constitution. Second amendment advocates ignore that all the Amendments to the US Constitution that have been enacted and can be repealed or substituted by the will of the people.
Our founding fathers knew that for a democracy such as ours to survive, it needed a process to allow government to be able to reflect changing times, grant and protect human rights and civil rights and allow the US Constitution to conform with changing norms and make corrections. Otherwise, we would still have slavery, women would not be able to vote and we would not be able to drink wine and spirits.
The 13th Amendment to the Constitution declares that “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime whereof the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction”, and it formally abolished slavery in the United States. The Civil War over slavery ended on April 9, 1865. The 13th Amendment was passed by the Congress on January 31, 1865, and ratified by the states on December 6, 1865.
The 19th amendment granted women the right to vote. It was passed by Congress June 4, 1919, and ratified on August 18, 1920.
The 21st Amendment to the United States Constitution repealed the 18th Amendment mandated nationwide prohibition on the production and sale of alcohol. The 21st Amendment passed congress on January 16, 1919 and was ratified by the states on December 5, 1933.
CITIZEN MILITIAS DEFINED
“Private Militias”, more commonly known by the general public as “Citizen Militias” are loosely defined as “armed military groups that are composed of private citizens and not recognized by the United State Government or state governments.” Upwards of half the states maintain laws regulating private militias. Generally, these laws prohibit the parading and exercising of armed private militias in public, but do not forbid the formation of private militias.
A Wyoming, a very conservative and reliable “red state” has a statute that prohibits the very formation of private militias. Wyoming State Statutes provides:
“No body of men other than the regularly organized national guard or the troops of the United States shall associate themselves together as a military company or organization, or parade in public with arms without license of the governor.”
Section 19-1-106, Wyoming Statutes Annotated
The Wyoming statute also prohibits the public funding of private militias. Anyone convicted of violating the provisions of the law is subject to a fine of not more than $1,000, imprisonment of six months, or both, for each offense.
THE INSURRECTION THEORY OF SECOND AMENDMENT
“Legal and political scholars have argued that citizen militias are driven by what is known as the insurrection theory of the Second Amendment. Under this view, the Second Amendment grants an unconditional right to bear arms for self-defense and for “rebellion against a tyrannical government” defined as when a government turns oppressive and private citizens have a duty to “insurrect” or take up arms against their own government.
The U.S. Supreme Court has issued a qualified rejection of the insurrection theory. According to the Court in Dennis v. United States, 341 U.S. 494, 71 S. Ct. 857, 95 L. Ed. 1137 (1951):
“[W]hatever theoretical merit there may be to the argument that there is a ‘right’ to rebellion against dictatorial governments is without force where the existing structure of the government provides for peaceful and orderly change.”
Legal scholars have interpreted this to mean that as long as the government provides for free elections and trials by jury, private citizens have no right to take up arms against the government. This is particularly relevant to the January 6, 2021 storming and takeover of the United States Capital to prevent Congress from certifying the electoral college vote for President Joe Biden. The January 6 takeover of the capital was sedition, pure plan and simple.
https://law.jrank.org/pages/10067/Second-Amendment-PRIVATE-MILITIAS.html
In states that allow militias, private militias are limited only by the criminal laws applicable to all. In other words, if an armed private militia seeks to parade and exercise in a public area, its members are subject to arrest on a variety of laws, including disturbing-the-peace, firearms violations, or even riot statutes.”
Links to quoted sources are here:
https://law.jrank.org/pages/10067/Second-Amendment-PRIVATE-MILITIAS.html
https://law.jrank.org/pages/10067/Second-Amendment-PRIVATE-MILITIAS.html#ixzz6RZtSrv00
CONGRESS AND STATES SHOULD ENACT MILITIA REGISTRATION ACT
There is no comprehensive federal law that regulates militias under the Second Amendment to the US Constitution and citizen militias are not regulated in the State of New Mexico.
Those who take it upon themselves to associate and bear arms calling themselves “citizen militias”, such as those who stormed the United States Capital on January 6 insighted by Führer Trump with his false claims that the election was stolen are insurrectionist. They take it to the extreme when they attend protests fully armed in military attire proclaiming, they attend to assume the responsibility law enforcement to protect people and property and “take back our country”.
As shootings escalate with mass murders and protests, the State of New Mexico and the United State Congress need to enact legislation that defines what a “citizen miltia” is and either ban them entirely or regulate all citizens militias.
A Citizen’s Militia Registration Act needs to be enacted. Citizen militias need to be defined along similar lines of how “gangs” are defined under federal criminal law.
https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/what-gang-definitions
A “citizens miltia” can be easily defined as:
“An association of three or more individuals, whose members collectively identify themselves by adopting a group identity employing one or more of the following: a common name, slogan, identifying sign, symbol, flag, uniforms or military apparel or other physical identifying marking, style or color of clothing, whose purpose in part is to engage in the protection of private property and other people. A registered citizens militia may employ rules for joining and operating within the militia and members may meet on a recurring basis.”
A Citizen Militia Registration Act would require citizen militias to:
1, Allow only American Citizens to be members of a citizen militia.
2. Register with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATFE) within the United States Department of Justice.
3, Require members to register their firearms with the ATFE.
4.Pay yearly regulation fees and firearm certification fees and carry liability insurance.
5. Identify all their members by name, address and contact information.
6. Prohibit felons from joining.
7. Limit their authority and powers so as to prevent militias to engage in law enforcement activities.
8. Require members to pass criminal background checks and psychological testing.
9. Mandate training and instructions on firearm use and safety.
10. Require all militias and its members to agree to follow all local and federal laws.
11. Failure to register as mandated by federal would be a felony.
OTHER PROPOSALS TO CONSIDER LOCALLY AND NATIONALLY
There are many other legislative proposals, too controversial for Republican United State Senators to stomach, that need to be considered and enacted by congress.
The United State Congress should:
1. Implement mandatory background checks on the sale of all guns.
2. Close the “Charleston loophole” or “delayed denial” where federally licensed dealers can sell guns if three business days pass without FBI clearance.
3. Call for the update and enhancement of the federal National Instant Criminal Background Check system (NCIS).
4. Institute mandatory extended waiting periods for all gun purchases.
5. Implement mandatory handgun licensing, permitting, training, and registration requirements.
6. Ban “bump-fire stocks” as was used in the Las Vegas mass shooting and other dangerous accessories.
7. Ban future manufacture and sale of all assault weapons and regulate existing assault weapons under the National Firearms Act of 1934, and initiate a federal gun buyback program.
8. Impose limits on high-capacity magazines.
9. Prohibit firearm sale or transfer to and receipt or possession by an individual who has: (1) been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor hate crime, or (2) received from any court an enhanced hate crime misdemeanor sentence.
10. Institute mandatory child access prevention safe storage requirements and prohibit the sales of handguns with “hair triggers”.
11. Provide more resources and treatment for people with mental illness.
12. Enhance accountability of federally licensed firearms dealers.
13. Implement micro stamped code on each bullet that links it to a specific gun.
14. Produce ‘x-mart guns’ with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) or biometric recognition (fingerprint) capability.
15. Limit gun purchases to one gun per month to reduce trafficking and straw purchases.
16. Prohibit open carry of firearms.
17. Digitize Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire (ATF) gun records.
18. Require licensing for ammunition dealer.
In New Mexico, our legislature should:
1. Repeal the New Mexico Constitutional provision that allows the “open carry” of firearms. This would require a public vote and no doubt generate heated discussion given New Mexico’s high percentage of gun ownership for hunting, sport or hobby.
2. Prohibit in New Mexico the sale of “ghost guns” parts. Ghost guns are guns that are manufactured and sold in parts without any serial numbers to be assembled by the purchaser and that can be sold to anyone.
3. Requiring in New Mexico the mandatory purchase of “liability insurance” with each gun sold as is required for all operable vehicles bought and driven in New Mexico.
4. Enact a gun violence restraining order and extreme risk protection process to temporarily prohibit an individual deemed by a judge to pose a danger to self or others, from purchasing or possessing firearms or ammunition and allow law local law enforcement to remove any firearms or ammunition already in the individual’s possession.
5. Restrict and penalize firearm possession by or transfer to a person subject to a domestic violence protection order or a person, including dating partners, convicted of a domestic violence misdemeanor.
6. Mandate the school systems and higher education institutions “harden” their facilities with more security doors, security windows, and security measures and alarm systems and security cameras tied directly to law enforcement 911 emergency operations centers.
FINAL COMMENTARY
Of all the legislation suggested it is enacting a Militia Registration Act that makes the most sense. A registration of citizens militias would go along way to deal with the insurrection that occurred in the United State Capitol on January 6, especially citizens militias such as the Proud Boys.
There is no comprehensive federal law that regulates militias under the Second Amendment to the US Constitution and citizen militias are not regulated in the State of New Mexico.
What is needed at a minimum on federal level are prohibitions and the ban of the manufacture, sale and distribution to the general public of semi-automatic firearms, AR-15 style rifles, assault weapons, semi-automatic pistols, semi-automatic shotguns and weapons that result in the most murders in the shortest amount of time.
Until the United States congress does something to enact reasonable and responsible gun control measures and ban assault weapons, we can expect many more mass shootings at soft targets. Soft targets include all public schools, movie theaters, malls, department stores and major public events like concerts and state fairs. The mass shootings will again be followed by the predictable cycle of news coverage, more outrage, more nighttime candle vigils, more funerals, more condolences, more rhetoric demanding action.
Congress and our legislators can end the madness but only if they have the backbone and will to act and help fulfill the goal of “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness” as declared in our Declaration of Independence.
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POSTSCRIPT
Following an edited CNN listing of the 45 mass shooting incidents reported from March 16 to April 15 in reverse order.
April 15: Indianapolis
Eight people were killed and several others wounded in a mass shooting at an Indianapolis FedEx facility on Thursday night, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Genae Cook said.
April 15: Pensacola, Florida
At least six people were injured at an Escambia County apartment complex. No suspects are in custody.
April 15: Washington, DC
Four people were shot, including a teenage girl, Thursday in Northeast Washington, DC..
April 13: Baltimore
Police said a dice game turned violent when two shooters opened fire on a group, injuring four.
April 12: Chicago
Four people were shot, one fatally, and a fifth person was hit by a car in a shooting early Monday on the Eisenhower Expressway.
April 11: Wichita, Kansas
One person was killed and three others injured in a shooting at a house party at an East Wichita Airbnb.
A toddler and three other people were injured when suspects fired into a business parking lot.
April 10: Memphis, Tennessee
One person was killed and three others were injured, including a mother and child, after gunfire was exchanged in a Memphis neighborhood.
April 10: Koshkonong, Missouri
One person was killed and three others injured in a shooting at a convenience store.
April 10: Waterbury, Connecticut
Police responded to calls of a weapons complaint and found blood trails and four injured victims.
April 10: Allendale, Michigan
An incident outside a house party resulted in four people being shot and one critically injured.
April 9: Fort Worth, Texas
One person was killed and at least five others injured when people in two vehicles shot at each other on a Fort Worth, Texas, freeway Friday night, officials said.
April 8: Bryan, Texas
A gunman killed one person and wounded at least five others — four of them critically — at a cabinet manufacturer, police said.
April 7: Rock Hill, South Carolina
A former NFL player killed six people — including a prominent doctor, his wife and their two young grandchildren — before killing himself, authorities said.
April 7: Milwaukee
A 26-year-old man was charged with the shooting that killed two people and injured two others at a gas station.
April 6: Detroit
One person was killed and three others injured after gunfire erupted from a car.
April 5: Baltimore
Five victims were taken to a hospital with multiple gunshot wounds.
April 4: Monroe, Louisiana
Police responded to Bobo’s Bar, where they found six victims with gunshot wounds.
April 4: Birmingham, Alabama
An argument between two groups of men devolved into more than 30 shots fired at a park on Easter — killing a woman and wounding five other people, including four children, police said.
April 4: Beaumont, Texas
A man arrived at a home, threatening several people with a firearm before shooting four victims.
April 3: Wilmington, North Carolina
Three people were killed and four others injured in a mass shooting at a house party.
April 3: Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Two men were arrested and charged with attempted murder after five people were injured during a shooting outside an Alabama bar, police said.
April 3: Dallas
In what police said was an apparent murder-suicide plot, 21-year-old and 19-year-old brothers made a pact to kill their parents, sister and grandmother.
April 3: Quincy, Florida
Seven people were injured by gunfire near a nightclub after a fight broke out into gunshots.
March 31: Orange, California
Four people, including a child, were killed and another person wounded in a mass shooting at an office complex in Orange, California, according to authorities.
March 31: Washington, DC
Five people were shot in Washington, the DC Police Department said. The incident started as a dispute and ended with two people dead and three injured.
March 28: Cleveland
Seven people were shot at a Cleveland nightclub, according to CNN affiliate WOIO. The victims, four men and three women, were all between 20 and 30 years old, and police believe several people fired inside the nightclub, the station reported.
March 28: Chicago
Four people in an SUV were shot on the I-57 expressway, according to CNN affiliate WLS. All were taken to hospitals in critical condition.
March 28: Essex, Maryland
A man fatally shot his parents before shooting three people at a convenience store, killing two of them, CNN affiliate WBOC reported, citing Baltimore County police. The suspect died by suicide.
March 27: Chicago
Four people were shot in Chicago’s South Austin neighborhood, according to CNN affiliate WBBM. The victims, who included men ages 42, 53 and 64, were near a sidewalk when they were shot, the station reported.
March 27: Yazoo City, Mississippi
At least seven people were injured in a mass shooting at a nightclub, CNN affiliate WLBT reported. At least six people were shot and another person suffered a laceration, the station reported.
March 27: River Grove, Illinois
A shooting on a party bus left three people injured and one dead, according to CNN affiliate WLS. Police say the occupants of another vehicle fired at the bus while stopped at an intersection, the station reported.
March 26: Virginia Beach, Virginia
Three shootings in the city left eight people injured and two dead, according to the City of Virginia Beach.
March 26: Chicago
A gathering in Chicago’s Wrightwood neighborhood turned into a mass shooting, according to CNN affiliate WLS. Two gunmen opened fire inside the gathering, wounding seven people and fatally shooting a 26-year-old man, the station reported.
March 26: Norfolk, Virginia
Police responded to a shooting that left four people wounded, CNN affiliate WTKR reported. The victims — two 18-year-old men, a 17-year-old girl and a 21-year-old woman — sustained non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.
March 26: Memphis, Tennessee
Five people were shot, the Memphis Police Department said on Twitter. Three victims were pronounced dead at the scene, two were taken to a hospital in critical condition, and one was in non-critical condition, the tweet said. Michael Tucker, the man identified as the suspect, was found dead in a motel in Nashville Thursday. Police spokesman Don Aaron said it is believed Tucker died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
March 26: Philadelphia
Outside of the Golf and Social Club, police say two suspects shot seven people, CNN affiliate WPVI reported. Video released by police shows two suspects approaching a gathering crowd and opening fire.
March 23: Aliceville, Alabama
A shooting reported at an Aliceville home left two people dead and two injured.
March 23: Boulder, Colorado
Ten people, including a Boulder police officer, were killed in a shooting at a King Soopers supermarket, according to police.
March 20: Philadelphia
One person was killed and another five were injured in a shooting at an illegal party, CNN affiliate KYW reported. “There were at least 150 people in there that fled and believed they had to flee for their lives,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said.
March 20: Dallas
Eight people were shot, one fatally, by an unknown assailant, according to police.
March 20: Houston
Five people were shot after a disturbance inside a club, according to police. One was in critical condition after being shot in the neck, and the rest were in stable condition.
March 18: Gresham, Oregon
Four victims were taken to the hospital after a shooting in the city east of Portland, police said in an initial report.
March 17: Stockton, California
Five people who were preparing a vigil in Stockton, in California’s Central Valley, were shot in a drive-by shooting, the San Joaquin Sheriff’s Department said. None had life-threatening injuries.
March 16: Atlanta
Eight people, including six Asian women, were killed when a White gunman stormed three spas, police said.
March 28: Cleveland
Seven people were shot at a Cleveland nightclub. The victims, four men and three women, were all between 20 and 30 years old, and police believe several people fired inside the nightclub, the station reported.
March 28: Chicago
Four people in an SUV were shot on the I-57 expressway. All were taken to hospitals in critical condition.
March 28: Essex, Maryland
A man fatally shot his parents before shooting three people at a convenience store, killing two of them. The suspect died by suicide.
March 27: Chicago
Four people were shot in Chicago’s South Austin neighborhood. The victims, who included men ages 42, 53 and 64, were near a sidewalk when they were shot, the station reported.
March 27: Yazoo City, Mississippi
At least seven people were injured in a mass shooting at a nightclub. At least six people were shot and another person suffered a laceration, the station reported.
March 27: River Grove, Illinois
A shooting on a party bus left three people injured and one dead. Police say the occupants of another vehicle fired at the bus while stopped at an intersection, the station reported.
March 26: Virginia Beach, Virginia,
Three shootings in the city left eight people injured and two dead.
March 26: Chicago
A gathering in Chicago’s Wrightwood neighborhood turned into a mass shooting. Two gunmen opened fire inside the gathering, wounding seven people and fatally shooting a 26-year-old man, the station reported.
March 26: Norfolk, Virginia
Police responded to a shooting that left four people wounded, The victims — two 18-year-old men, a 17-year-old girl and a 21-year-old woman — sustained non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.
March 26: Memphis, Tennessee
Five people were shot Three victims were pronounced dead at the scene, two were taken to a hospital in critical condition, and one was in non-critical condition, the tweet said. Michael Tucker, the man identified as the suspect, was found dead in a motel in Nashville. Police spokesman Don Aaron said it is believed Tucker died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
March 26: Philadelphia
Outside of the Golf and Social Club, police say two suspects shot seven people. Video released by police shows two suspects approaching a gathering crowd and opening fire.
March 23: Aliceville, Alabama
A shooting reported at an Aliceville home left two people dead and two injured.
March 23: Boulder, Colorado
Ten people, including a Boulder police officer, were killed in a shooting at a King Soopers supermarket, according to police.
March 20: Philadelphia
One person was killed and another five were injured in a shooting at an illegal party, CNN affiliate KYW reported. “There were at least 150 people in there that fled and believed they had to flee for their lives,” Philadelphia Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw said.
March 20: Dallas
Eight people were shot, one fatally, by an unknown assailant, according to police.
March 20: Houston: Five people were shot after a disturbance inside a club, according to police. One was in critical condition after being shot in the neck, and the rest were in stable condition.
March 18: Gresham, Oregon
Four victims were taken to the hospital after a shooting in the city east of Portland, police said in an initial report.
March 17: Stockton, California
Five people who were preparing a vigil in Stockton, in California’s Central Valley, were shot in a drive-by shooting, the San Joaquin Sheriff’s Department said. None had life-threatening injuries.
March 16: Atlanta
Eight people, including six Asian women, were killed when a White gunman stormed three spas, police said.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/16/us/mass-shootings-45-one-month/index.html