US Mass Killings Could Set Tragic Record This Year
2023-04-28
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1The United States is on a record pace for mass killings in 2023.
2A mass killing usually involves firearms and is defined as an attack in which four or more people are killed not including the attacker or attackers.
3This year's violence has ended 88 lives in 17 attacks over more than 100 days.
4Only 2009 was marked by as many tragedies of this kind in the same period of time.
5Here are some of the attacks that took place:
6Children at a Nashville grade school were gunned down on a school day by a former student.
7Farmworkers in Northern California were sprayed with bullets by a fellow worker because of a dispute.
8A man killed dancers celebrating the Lunar New Year at a dance place outside Los Angeles.
9On April 15, four partygoers were killed and 32 injured in Dadeville, Alabama.
10Three young men were charged with opening fire at a birthday celebration in the town for a 16-year-old girl.
11Days later, a man shot and killed four people, including his parents, in Bowdoin, Maine.
12Then he opened fire on vehicles traveling on a busy highway. He had just been released from prison.
13"Nobody should be shocked," said Fred Guttenberg.
14In 2018, his 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, was one of 17 people killed at a school in Parkland, Florida.
15"I visit my daughter in a cemetery.
16Outrage doesn't begin to describe how I feel."
17The Parkland victims are among the 2,842 people who have died in mass killings in the U.S. since 2006.
18That number comes from records kept by The Associated Press (AP) and the USA Today newspaper, in partnership with Northeastern University in Boston.
19An examination of the data from those organizations shows that mass killings happen, on average, once every 6.53 days.
20They represent a small part of the deadly violence that takes place yearly in the U.S.
21The U.S. recorded 30 or fewer mass killings in more than half of the years of the database.
22The pace of mass shootings so far this year does not mean the U.S will have the most attacks this year.
23In 2009, the violence slowed, and the year finished with 32 mass killings and 172 deaths.
24Those numbers are just above the averages of 31.1 mass killings and 162 victims a year as suggested by the AP and USA Today data.
25Tragic records have been set within the last 10 years.
26The data shows a high of 45 mass killings in 2019 and 230 people killed in such tragedies in 2017.
27That year, 60 people died when a gunman opened fire over an outdoor country music celebration in Las Vegas, Nevada.
28That incident remains the deadliest mass shooting in modern America.
29"Here's the reality: If somebody is determined to commit mass violence, they're going to," said Jaclyn Schildkraut.
30She heads the Rockefeller Institute of Government's Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium.
31She said it is important to put up barriers to mass violence.
32Some states have tried to place more controls on guns with state laws.
33On April 13, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a new law ordering criminal background investigations for the purchase of firearms including rifles and shotguns.
34In the past, such investigations were required only of handgun buyers.
35This week, the governor of Washington state signed a law banning many kinds of semi-automatic rifles.
36Other states are experiencing a new round of pressure.
37In conservative Tennessee, protesters gathered at the state Capitol building to demand more gun laws after six people were killed at a religious elementary school last month.
38Last year, President Joe Biden signed a federal gun violence law.
39It expands background investigations into the youngest gun buyers and red flag laws.
40Red flag laws enable police to ask courts for an order to take guns from people who show signs they could turn violent.
41Sometimes mass killings happen in groups - like in January, when deadly events in California took place just two days apart.
42Then, months pass without mass violence.
43"We shouldn't necessarily expect that this - one mass killing every less than seven days - will continue," said Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox, who oversees the database.
44"Hopefully it won't."
45Experts and activists denounce the sale of guns in the U.S. in recent years.
46Record sales were reported during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.
47John Feinblatt leads the nonprofit group Everytown for Gun Safety.
48Feinblatt said, "We have to know that this isn't the way to live."
49He added: "We don't have to live this way. And we cannot live in a country with an agenda of guns everywhere..."
50The National Rifle Association, which supports the rights of gun owners, did not answer the AP's request for comment.
51Jaime Guttenberg would be 19 years old now.
52Her father, Fred, now is a gun control activist.
53He wants some kind of action.
54Guttenberg said, "It's all in the numbers. The numbers don't lie. But we need to do something immediately to fix it."
55I'm Mario Ritter Jr. And I'm Caty Weaver.
1The United States is on a record pace for mass killings in 2023. 2A mass killing usually involves firearms and is defined as an attack in which four or more people are killed not including the attacker or attackers. 3This year's violence has ended 88 lives in 17 attacks over more than 100 days. Only 2009 was marked by as many tragedies of this kind in the same period of time. 4Here are some of the attacks that took place: 5Is anywhere safe? 6Children at a Nashville grade school were gunned down on a school day by a former student. Farmworkers in Northern California were sprayed with bullets by a fellow worker because of a dispute. A man killed dancers celebrating the Lunar New Year at a dance place outside Los Angeles. 7On April 15, four partygoers were killed and 32 injured in Dadeville, Alabama. Three young men were charged with opening fire at a birthday celebration in the town for a 16-year-old girl. Days later, a man shot and killed four people, including his parents, in Bowdoin, Maine. Then he opened fire on vehicles traveling on a busy highway. He had just been released from prison. 8"Nobody should be shocked," said Fred Guttenberg. 9In 2018, his 14-year-old daughter, Jaime, was one of 17 people killed at a school in Parkland, Florida. "I visit my daughter in a cemetery. Outrage doesn't begin to describe how I feel." 10The Parkland victims are among the 2,842 people who have died in mass killings in the U.S. since 2006. That number comes from records kept by The Associated Press (AP) and the USA Today newspaper, in partnership with Northeastern University in Boston. 11Tragic records set 12An examination of the data from those organizations shows that mass killings happen, on average, once every 6.53 days. They represent a small part of the deadly violence that takes place yearly in the U.S. 13The U.S. recorded 30 or fewer mass killings in more than half of the years of the database. 14The pace of mass shootings so far this year does not mean the U.S will have the most attacks this year. In 2009, the violence slowed, and the year finished with 32 mass killings and 172 deaths. Those numbers are just above the averages of 31.1 mass killings and 162 victims a year as suggested by the AP and USA Today data. 15Tragic records have been set within the last 10 years. The data shows a high of 45 mass killings in 2019 and 230 people killed in such tragedies in 2017. That year, 60 people died when a gunman opened fire over an outdoor country music celebration in Las Vegas, Nevada. That incident remains the deadliest mass shooting in modern America. 16"Here's the reality: If somebody is determined to commit mass violence, they're going to," said Jaclyn Schildkraut. She heads the Rockefeller Institute of Government's Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium. She said it is important to put up barriers to mass violence. 17'We don't have to live this way' 18Some states have tried to place more controls on guns with state laws. On April 13, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed a new law ordering criminal background investigations for the purchase of firearms including rifles and shotguns. In the past, such investigations were required only of handgun buyers. 19This week, the governor of Washington state signed a law banning many kinds of semi-automatic rifles. 20Other states are experiencing a new round of pressure. In conservative Tennessee, protesters gathered at the state Capitol building to demand more gun laws after six people were killed at a religious elementary school last month. 21Last year, President Joe Biden signed a federal gun violence law. It expands background investigations into the youngest gun buyers and red flag laws. Red flag laws enable police to ask courts for an order to take guns from people who show signs they could turn violent. 22Sometimes mass killings happen in groups - like in January, when deadly events in California took place just two days apart. Then, months pass without mass violence. 23"We shouldn't necessarily expect that this - one mass killing every less than seven days - will continue," said Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox, who oversees the database. "Hopefully it won't." 24Experts and activists denounce the sale of guns in the U.S. in recent years. Record sales were reported during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. 25John Feinblatt leads the nonprofit group Everytown for Gun Safety. Feinblatt said, "We have to know that this isn't the way to live." He added: "We don't have to live this way. And we cannot live in a country with an agenda of guns everywhere..." 26The National Rifle Association, which supports the rights of gun owners, did not answer the AP's request for comment. 27Jaime Guttenberg would be 19 years old now. Her father, Fred, now is a gun control activist. He wants some kind of action. 28Guttenberg said, "It's all in the numbers. The numbers don't lie. But we need to do something immediately to fix it." 29I'm Mario Ritter Jr. And I'm Caty Weaver. 30Stefanie Dazio and Larry Fenn reported this story for the Associated Press. Caty Weaver adapted it for VOA Learning English. 31____________________________________________________ 32Words in This Story 33pace -n. rate of movement 34spray v. to project spray or something resembling spray on or into 35cemetery -n. a burial ground for the dead 36outrage -n. anger and resentment resulting from injury or insult 37rifle -n. a long gun 38semi-automatic -adj. describing a gun that must have the trigger pulled for each shot fired but that loads automatically 39We want to hear from you. 40Here is how our comment system works: 41Each time you return to comment on the Learning English site, you can use your account and see your comments and replies to them. Our comment policy is here.