風蕭蕭_Frank
以文會友
"最致命6個月"！美國大規模殺人案發生頻率創紀錄
2023-7-15 來源：美國中文網
美國中文網報道 今年前6個月美國各地不斷發生的大規模殺戮事件總計已達28起，創下自2006年以來的曆史記錄，美聯社稱之為美國“最致命的6個月”。
《今日美國》、美聯社和東北大(專題)學聯合建立的追蹤2006年以來大規模暴力事件的數據庫顯示，從今年1月1日到6月30日，美國共經曆了28起大規模殺戮事件，導致140人死亡。其中的27起，都與槍支有關。
美聯社稱，“大規模殺戮”的定義是：在24小時內，不包括行凶者在內，有至少4人被殺害。
2023年的6個月統計數字打破了之前的紀錄，2022年這一紀錄才剛剛被刷新，當年下半年，全美共發生了27起大規模殺戮事件。
東北大學犯罪學教授福克斯(James Alan Fox)在大約5年前開始監督這一數字時，從未想到會有這樣的紀錄。他表示，“往年的數字都是全年二、三十起。而今年，僅僅半年就有28起，這確實相當令人震驚”。
加州(專題)大學戴維斯分校暴力預防研究項目副主任、精神病學家巴恩霍斯特(Amy Barnhorst)將大規模流血事件的增加歸因於美國人口的增長和槍支數量的增加。
在這28起大規模殺人事件中，有27起都與槍支有關。唯一的例外是路易斯安那州的一場造成4人死亡的火災，在這起案件中，一名37歲男子因縱火和謀殺指控而被捕。
美聯社稱，大規模槍擊事件往往會刺激改革與槍支有關的法律，但這些努力並不能成功。
田納西州州長、共和黨人李(Bill Lee)在納什維爾校園槍擊案發生後敦促通過立法，使槍支遠離那些可能會傷害自己或他人的人。但在田納西州通過這樣的法案是一項艱巨任務，共和黨占多數的州議會並未采取槍支管製措施，這使李不得不安排了8月的州議會特別會期來討論此事。
此外，盡管大規模槍擊案件頻發，全國槍支協會(NRA)仍強烈反對對槍支進行監管，包括AR-15式步槍和類似武器。
U.S. on record pace for mass killings, nearly all involving guns, in 2023
https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/us-mass-shooting-pace-1.6906786
Since the last half of 2022, U.S. has seen 55 incidents where more than 4 people were slain
Slain at the hands of strangers or gunned down by loved ones. Massacred in small towns, in big cities, inside their own homes or outside in broad daylight. This year's unrelenting bloodshed across the U.S. has led to the grimmest of milestones: The deadliest six months of mass killings recorded since at least 2006.
From Jan. 1 to June 30, the nation endured 28 mass killings. With the exception of a deadly arson case in Louisiana, all of the incidents have involved guns.
"What a ghastly milestone," said Brent Leatherwood, whose three kids were in class at a private Christian school in Nashville on March 27 when a former student killed three children and three adults. "You never think your family would be a part of a statistic like that."
Leatherwood, a prominent Republican in Tennessee, a state that hasn't strengthened gun laws, believes something must be done to get guns out of the hands of people who might become violent. The shock of seeing the bloodshed strike so close to home has prompted him to speak out.
A mass killing is defined as an occurrence when four or more people are slain, not including the assailant, within a 24-hour period. A database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University tracks this large-scale violence dating back to 2006.
The 2023 milestone beat the previous record of 27 mass killings, which was only set in the second half of 2022. James Alan Fox, a criminology professor at Northeastern University, never imagined records like this when he began overseeing the database about five years ago.
"We used to say there were two to three dozen a year," Fox said. "The fact that there's 28 in half a year is a staggering statistic."
'Hopefully it was just a blip'
The chaos of the first six months of 2023 doesn't automatically doom the last six months. The remainder of the year could be calmer, despite more violence over the July 4th holiday weekend.
"Hopefully it was just a blip," said Dr. Amy Barnhorst, a psychiatrist who is the associate director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, Davis.
"There could be fewer killings later in 2023, or this could be part of a trend," she said.
Experts like Barnhorst and Fox attribute the rising bloodshed to a growing population with an increased number of guns in the U.S.
Yet for all the headlines, mass killings are statistically rare and represent a fraction of the country's overall gun violence. In 2021, the most recent year tracked in its entirety, there were more deaths from suicides than homicides involving guns, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
"We need to keep it in perspective," Fox said.
New legislation not always forthcoming
But the mass violence most often spurs attempts to reform gun laws, even if the efforts aren't always successful.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, had urged the General Assembly in the wake of the Nashville school shooting to pass legislation keeping firearms away from people who could harm themselves or others, so-called "red flag laws," though Lee says the term is politically toxic.
The Nashville shooter used three guns in the attack, including an AR-15-style rifle. It was one of at least four mass killings in the first half of 2023 involving such a weapon, according to the database.
Despite the unprecedented carnage, the National Rifle Association maintains fierce opposition to regulating firearms, including AR-15-style rifles and similar weapons.
"Joe Biden and Kamala Harris' constant efforts to gut the Second Amendment will not usher in safety for Americans; instead, it will only embolden criminals," NRA spokesman Billy McLaughlin said in a statement. "That is why the NRA continues our fight for self-defence laws. Rest assured, we will never bow, we will never retreat, and we will never apologize for championing the self-defence rights of law-abiding Americans."
Leatherwood, a former executive director of the Tennessee Republican Party and now the head of the influential Southern Baptist Convention's public policy arm, wrote a letter to lawmakers asking them to pass the governor's proposal.
Leatherwood said he doesn't want any other family to go through what his children experienced at the time of the shooting when they were in kindergarten, second grade and fourth grade. One of his kids, preparing for a recent sleepaway camp, asked whether they would be safe there.
"Our child was asking, 'Do you think that there will be a gunman that comes to this camp? Do I need to be worried about that?"'
US sets a grim milestone with new record for the deadliest six months of mass killings
https://www.kcra.com/article/us-new-record-deadliest-six-months-mass-killings/44545411
Dazio reported from Los Angeles Jul 14, 2023
From Jan. 1 to June 30, the nation endured 28 mass killings, all but one of which involved guns. The death toll rose just about every week, a constant cycle of violence and grief.
Six months. 181 days. 28 mass killings. 140 victims. One country.
“What a ghastly milestone," said Brent Leatherwood, whose three children were in class at a private Christian school in Nashville on March 27 when a former student killed three children and three adults. “You never think your family would be a part of a statistic like that.”
Leatherwood, a prominent Republican in a state that hasn't strengthened gun laws, believes something must be done to get guns out of the hands of people who might become violent. The shock of seeing the bloodshed strike so close to home has prompted him to speak out.
"You may as well say Martians have landed, right? It’s hard to wrap your mind around it," he said.
A mass killing is defined as an occurrence when four or more people are slain, not including the assailant, within a 24-hour period. A database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University tracks this large-scale violence dating back to 2006.
“We used to say there were two to three dozen a year," Fox said. "The fact that there's 28 in half a year is a staggering statistic.”
But the chaos of the first six months of 2023 doesn't automatically doom the last six months. The remainder of the year could be calmer, despite more violence over the July Fourthholiday weekend.
“Hopefully it was just a blip," said Dr. Amy Barnhorst, a psychiatrist who is the associate director of the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, Davis.
“There could be fewer killings later in 2023, or this could be part of a trend. But we won’t know for sometime,” she added.
Experts like Barnhorst and Fox attribute the rising bloodshed to a growing population with an increased number of guns in the U.S. Yet for all the headlines, mass killings are statistically rare and represent a fraction of the country’s overall gun violence.
“We need to keep it in perspective,” Fox said.
But the mass violence most often spurs attempts to reform gun laws, even if the efforts are not always successful.
Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee, a Republican, had urged the General Assembly in the wake of the Nashville school shooting to pass legislation keeping firearms away from people who could harm themselves or others, so-called “red flag laws,” though Lee says the term is politically toxic.
Getting such a measure passed in Tennessee is an uphill climb. The Republican-led Legislature adjourned earlier this year without taking on gun control, prompting Lee to schedule a special session for August.
Leatherwood said he doesn’t want any other family to go through what his children experienced at the time of the shooting when they were in kindergarten, second grade and fourth grade. One of his kids, preparing for a recent sleepaway camp, asked whether they would be safe there.
“Our child was asking, ‘Do you think that there will be a gunman that comes to this camp? Do I need to be worried about that?’” Leatherwood said.
The Nashville shooter, whose writings Leatherwood and other parents are asking a court to keep private, used three guns in the attack, including an AR-15-style rifle. It was one of at least four mass killings in the first half of 2023 involving such a weapon, according to the database.
Nearly all of the mass killings in the first half of this year, 27 of 28, involved guns. The other was a fire that killed four people in a home in Monroe, Louisiana. A 37-year-old man was arrested on arson and murder charges in connection with the March 31 deaths.
Despite the unprecedented carnage, the National Rifle Association maintains fierce opposition to regulating firearms, including AR-15-style rifles and similar weapons.
“Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’ constant efforts to gut the Second Amendment will not usher in safety for Americans; instead, it will only embolden criminals," NRA spokesman Billy McLaughlin said in a statement. "That is why the NRA continues our fight for self-defense laws. Rest assured, we will never bow, we will never retreat, and we will never apologize for championing the self-defense rights of law-abiding Americans.”
Tito Anchondo's brother, Andre Anchondo, was among 23 people killed in a 2019 mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. The gunman was sentenced last week to 90 consecutive life sentences but could face more punishment, including the death penalty. The prosecution of the racist attack on Hispanic shoppers in the border city was one of the U.S. government’s largest hate crime cases.
Andre Anchondo and his wife, Jordan, died shielding their 2-month-old son from bullets. Paul, who escaped with just broken bones, is now 4 years old.
“I hope that things can drastically change because this country is going down a very, very slippery slope; a downward spiral,” he said. “It's just a little unnerving to know that he's eventually going to go to school with kids that also may bring a gun to school.”
