UNITED STATES (AP).- At least six people, including a Pennsylvania state trooper, were killed and dozens more wounded during a wave of violence and shootings across the United States over the weekend.
The shootings in suburban Chicago, Washington state, Pennsylvania, St. Louis, Southern California and Baltimore followed a surge in murders and other violent incidents in recent years, which experts say accelerated during the pandemic. from covid-19.
“There is no question that there has been an uptick in violence,” said Daniel Nagin, a professor of public policy and statistics at Carnegie Mellon University. “Some of these cases appear to simply be disputes, often between teenagers, and those disputes are being settled with guns, not fists.”
Researchers disagree as to the causes of the increase. Theories include the possibility that the violence is being driven by the prevalence of firearms in the country, or less aggressive police tactics, or a decline in criminal prosecutions for minor firearms-related offenses, Nagin said.
As of Sunday afternoon, none of the incidents over the weekend fit the definition of a mass shooting, because fewer than four people were killed at each of the crime scenes. However, the number of injuries in most cases does match the widely accepted definition of a mass shooting.
Here’s a look at the weekend shootings:
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WILLOWBROOK, ILLINOIS
One person was killed and at least 22 injured in a shooting early Sunday at a party in a suburban Chicago parking lot where hundreds of people had gathered to celebrate Juneteenth, authorities said.
The DuPage County Police Department referred to a “peaceful gathering” that suddenly turned violent in Willowbrook, about 20 miles southwest of Chicago.
The reason for the attack is unknown at this time. Police spokesman Robert Carroll said authorities were interviewing “persons of interest” in the shooting, the Daily Herald reported.
One witness, Markeshia Avery, said the celebration was to mark Juneteenth, the Monday federal holiday commemorating the day in 1865 that slaves from Galveston, Texas, learned they had been freed, two years after the Proclamation of Emancipation.
“We started hearing shots, so we lay on the ground until they stopped,” Avery told WLS-TV.
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WASHINGTON STATE
Two people were killed and two others wounded when a gunman began firing “randomly” into a crowd at a Washington state campground where they were spending the night so they could attend a nearby music festival on Saturday. the police said.
The suspect was shot during a confrontation with police officers and was detained several hundred meters away from the Beyond Wonderland electronic dance music festival.
A public notice alerted people that an active shooter was in the area, advising them to “run, hide or fight.”
The festival continued into the early hours of Sunday, according to Grant County Police Department spokesman Kyle Foreman. Organizers later tweeted that Sunday’s concert was cancelled.
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CENTER PENNSYLVANIA
One state trooper was killed and another seriously injured hours apart in two related incidents Saturday in central Pennsylvania after a gunman attacked a state police headquarters.
The suspect drove his truck into the Lewistown Police Station parking lot at about 11 a.m. Saturday and fired a high-caliber rifle at patrol cars before fleeing, authorities said Sunday.
Lieutenant James Wagner, 45, was seriously injured after running into the suspect several miles away in the town of Mifflintown. Subsequently, police officer Jacques Rougeau Jr., 29, was ambushed and killed by a bullet that pierced the windshield of his patrol car while driving in nearby Walker Township.
The 38-year-old suspect was shot dead after an intense shootout, said Lt. Col. George Bivens, who used a helicopter to coordinate the search.
“What I saw … was one of the most intense and unbelievable shootings I’ve ever seen,” Bivens said, praising police officers for launching an aggressive search despite the fact that they were faced with a weapon that “would pierce any of the bulletproof vests they had available.
So far the reason was unknown.
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SAINT LOUIS
A shooting at a downtown St. Louis office building killed a 17-year-old boy and wounded 10 other teenagers early Sunday morning, city police commissioner Robert Tracy said.
Tracy identified the deceased victim as Makao Moore. A spokesman said a minor in possession of a firearm is being held as a person of interest.
The teens were having a party in an office space when the shooting broke out at about 1:00 a.m. Sunday.
The victims are between the ages of 15 and 19 and some received multiple gunshot wounds. A 17-year-old girl suffered a serious spinal cord injury after falling and being trampled during the stampede, Tracy added.
AR-type rifle casings and other firearms were found on the ground.
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SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
A shooting at a pool party at a Southern California residence left eight injured, authorities said Saturday.
KABC-TV reported that authorities responded to a report shortly after midnight in Carson, California, south of Los Angeles.
The ages of the victims range from 16 to 24 years old, the Los Angeles County Police Department said in a statement. They were taken to hospitals, two of them in critical condition, he added.
Authorities found another 16-year-old boy with a gunshot wound when responding to a report about a vehicle crashing into a wall a short distance from the initial shooting.
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BALTIMORE
Six people were injured Friday night in a shooting in Baltimore. All of them are expected to survive.
Agents heard gunshots in the north of the city shortly before 9 p.m. and found three men with multiple gunshot wounds. Paramedics took them to area hospitals.
Police later learned of three other victims who arrived on foot at area hospitals with non-life-threatening gunshot wounds.
The injured are between the ages of 17 and 26, said Lindsey Eldridge, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore Police Department.
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SAN FRANCISCO
Six people were injured after a “car-to-car” shooting on the streets of San Francisco on Sunday night, police said.
Two victims suffered gunshot wounds, one with life-threatening injuries, in the on-the-go shooting that began shortly before 7 p.m., San Francisco Police Chief Bill Scott said at a news conference Sunday. .
The suspects in two cars, a black SUV and a white sedan, “drove very recklessly and chased each other while shooting” near the North Shore, Scott said. The area includes Fisherman’s Wharf, one of the busiest tourist areas in the city.
Three people were injured by glass shards caused by “errant gunfire,” Scott said, and none of the injuries were considered life-threatening.
Two minors, ages 10 and 16, were hit by one of the two vehicles when they were crossing the street with their bicycles. The girl was injured and was taken to a hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, while the teen was not injured, Scott said.
