It’s hard to keep up with the mass shootings that have occurred in 2022, but there are at least a few that stand out in everyone’s minds: Uvalde, Buffalo, and Brooklyn. The actual number of mass shootings that have occurred is far more frightening with over 246 mass shootings (and counting) in this year alone, according to Gun Violence Archive. The number of deaths due to gun violence continues to grow at alarming rates year over year — and something has to be done when it comes to gun responsibility laws.
President Joe Biden has heard the families from Buffalo, New York, and Uvalde, Texas loud and clear: “Do something. Just do something. For God’s sake, do something,” he said in his June 2 speech to the nation. He’s not wrong when he says that “after Columbine, after Sandy Hook, after Charleston, after Orlando, after Las Vegas, after Parkland, nothing has been done,” but the Second Amendment has become a political hot topic that divides Democrats and Republicans. The United States has reached a point of facing a crisis that is “one of conscience and common sense.”
With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention releasing data that “guns are the No. 1 killer of children in the United States of America,” that should be enough for both sides to realize that something has to be done. Kids shouldn’t be pawns in a political game, and meaningful legislation needs to be enacted (while still allowing responsible gun owners the right to bear arms), so we don’t wake up to another senseless tragedy. Biden is recommending a ban on assault weapons and high capacity magazines, raising the minimum age to purchase from 18 to 21, strengthening background checks, repealing the immunity that protects gun manufacturers from liability, and yes, “address[ing] the mental health crisis deepening the trauma of gun violence, and as a consequence of that violence.”
It’s not just a big city problem anymore: gun violence can happen anywhere, and these tragedies are happening far too often. Americans can’t become numb to the news of another mass shooting because all of our lives are at stake. Take a closer look at some of the deadliest mass shootings in 2022 and how many lives have been affected by gun violence in just this year alone.
-
January 23: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Image Credit: Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel via AP. An armed home robbery turned deadly when the suspects shot six occupants located in the residence they were looting. One of the gunmen called it a “robbery gone bad.” The victims and suspects were familiar with one another, so the police consider it a targeted crime.
-
March 19: Dumas, Arkansas
Image Credit: Staci Vandagriff/The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette via AP. A community event turned into a nightmare as two people began shooting at each other. The bullets sprayed the crowd, killing one and injuring 27 other people at the car show in the agricultural town.
-
April 3: Sacramento, California
Image Credit: AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli. Several gunmen opened fire in downtown Sacramento as people left the city’s nightclubs. The mass shooting left six people dead, and 12 wounded, in what was an alleged gang dispute in California’s capital city.
-
April 12: Brooklyn, New York
Image Credit: AP Photo/John Minchillo. While no one was killed, a gunman filled a morning rush-hour subway train with smoke and wounded 10 people. The 62-year-old suspect was charged with a terrorist or other violent attack against a mass transportation system.
“The defendant terrifyingly opened fire on passengers on a crowded subway train, interrupting their morning commute in a way the city hasn’t seen in more than 20 years,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Sara Winik said in court. “The defendant’s attack was premeditated, was carefully planned, and it caused terror among the victims and our entire city.”
-
April 27: Biloxi, Mississippi
Image Credit: Bill Snyder/WLOX-TV via AP. At the Biloxi Broadway Inn Express, a fatal shooting occurred at the hotel that left the owner and two employees dead along with another person during a carjacking by the suspect. The gunman had police in a standoff and eventually shot himself before authorities could arrest him, per CBS News.
-
May 13: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Image Credit: WISN 12 News via AP. Twenty people were injured in two shootings in downtown Milwaukee near an entertainment district where thousands of people were watching the Milwaukee Bucks play the Boston Celtics in the NBA’s Eastern Conference semifinals. According to the Milwaukee Police Department, over 20 people were wounded by gunfire.
-
May 14: Buffalo, New York
Image Credit: AP Photo/Patrick Semansky. An 18-year-old killed 10 people and wounded three others at a Tops grocery store in a Black neighborhood. His assault-weapon attack was disturbingly streamed online while he armed himself in tactical gear. The tragedy is seen as a racially motivated crime after his 180-page manifesto was discovered online. The shooter has pleaded not guilty to the 25-count indictment, including 10 counts of first-degree murder and charges of domestic terror.
-
May 15: Laguna Woods, California
Image Credit: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong. In what was called a “politically motivated hate incident” against the Taiwanese community by Orange County Sheriff Don Barnes, per ABC10, the gunman opened fire at the Irvine Taiwanese Presbyterian Church. Dr. John Cheng heroically tackled the perpetrator, losing his life in the process, but it likely saved the lives of many congregants. Four other people were wounded in the attack.
-
May 24: Uvalde, Texas
Image Credit: AP Photo/Jae C. Hong. What happened in Uvalde, Texas can only be described as a massacre as 19 children and two teachers lost their lives at the Robb Elementary School. The shocking timeline, unveiled by authorities, continues to be a source of confusion as police waited over 90 minutes to make a plan to rescue the unharmed children and aid the victims. Their inaction tragically cost more lives in this senseless situation.
-
June 1: Tulsa, Oklahoma
Image Credit: Ian Maule/Tulsa World via AP. A gunman killed four people: two doctors, an administrator, and a patient at Saint Francis Hospital campus in Tulsa, Oklahoma with an AR-15 style rifle. The assailant was a patient of Dr. Preston Phillips, who had recently performed back surgery on him and in a letter, blamed the doctor for his ongoing pain and requested additional treatment. The suspect fatally shot himself after he “gunned them down,” per CNN.
-
June 4: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Image Credit: AP Photo/Michael Perez. On one of the most popular stretches of Philadelphia known for its restaurants and shops, 14 people were shot, leaving three dead, after two suspects got into a gunfight on South Street. The bystanders in the shooting spree were all innocent victims trying to enjoy a spring night out on the town. “There were hundreds of individuals just enjoying South Street, as they do every weekend, when this shooting broke out,” Philadelphia Police Department Inspector D. F. Pace somberly told NBC10.
-
June 5: Chattanooga, Tennessee
Image Credit: Tierra Hayes/Chattanooga Times Free Press via AP. Downtown Chattanooga saw the latest gun violence incident in the U.S. at a nightclub that left 17 injured and three dead, most of the injuries were from bullets. Several people were injured, and one person killed, from being hit by vehicles while running from the scene. Details are still emerging in the case, but it is believed to be a targeted incident, per People.
More Stories from Entertainment
Leave a Comment