People in Allen, Texas, commemorate the victims of the shooting with crosses. Bild: The Dallas Morning News / Smiley N. Pool
Politics
It’s only the beginning of May and in the US it’s already over 200 killing sprees. Over the weekend, one of the sad crime scenes was a mall near Dallas, Texas. The suspected gunman killed eight people there before he was shot dead by a police officer. Several people were injured.
When the shooting started, Steven Spainhouer headed straight for it. He’s the father of a clerk from the mall. His son would have called him when fire broke out outside the H&M where he works. And Spainhouer, he reports on “12News”, among other things, ran to the shopping center. The horror that he experienced there will probably haunt him for a long time.
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Lots of blood, suffering and death – and another debate about guns
Visibly touched, Spainhouer reports on his experiences. The victims, he explains to the broadcaster CBS News Texaswere so badly injured that they even had to be taken away in police cars – to get them to the hospital quickly enough. The first responder does not know whether he saved his own life, but he does know that three people died.
As soon as he arrived, he was confronted with death, explains Spainhouer. He says: “The first girl I approached was huddled and covering her head in the bushes. So I felt her pulse, pulled her head to the side, and she had no face.”
He found a boy who survived. Above the boy: his dead mother’s body. “My mother is hurt. My mother is hurt,” the boy said to him. Spainhour has brought him to safety. The child was covered in blood, as if someone had poured a bucket full of blood over him.
Spainhouer recalls that while he was trying to save lives, many confined themselves to filming the bodies. What he experienced there will stay with him forever. “No one can see what we saw today without being affected,” Spainhouer told CBS News. “It’s not a situation I would wish on anyone, it’s just unbelievable to see such carnage.”
US President Joe Biden announced on Sunday that children were among the fatalities. Exact details about the victims were not initially known, nor about the background of the crime. The local authorities initially gave little information. According to the president, the attacker used an AR-15 assault rifle in the attack. This weapon is used particularly frequently in rampages in the USA.
Gen-Z wants to demonstrate in front of the Capitol
While the bereaved are still mourning their dead, calls for stricter gun laws are once again being made elsewhere. And while the debate is old, Gen-Z is arguably bringing new momentum. Representatives of the loud generation are planning a protest event near the Capitol.
On June 6th they call for a sit-in. The demand: A ban on assault weapons like the AR-15 rifle. And better protection of children in the US. Because weapons are the main cause of death for young people there.
Gen-Z Democrat Harry Sisson also calls for a comprehensive gun law reform in an emotional video. “And to all the Republicans who just sit around and don’t want to do anything about it: Get out and clear the way so we can start saving lives.“
The NextGen Education Fund also tweeted: “The answer to gun violence is not more guns. Young people stand ready to continue organizing for sound gun reform to protect our communities.”
(With material from the dpa)
