14 mass shootings tallied in US over Memorial Day weekend, data shows
It was a somber and bloody Memorial Day weekend, as at least 14 mass shootings erupted across the United States, leaving eight dead and 59 wounded, new data from a research group shows.
The spate of gun attacks — from Nevada to Texas to Pennsylvania — broke out amid calls for gun control following the May 24 school massacre in Uvalde, Texas, that left 19 students and two teachers dead.
The deadliest Memorial Day weekend shooting occurred Monday in Philadelphia, when two people were killed and another two wounded as multiple gunmen opened fire at a holiday event, according to the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive.
The victims, including a 16-year-old girl and a 21-year-old woman who died from their wounds, had been gathered for the event in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond section, WTXF reported.
Two other victims, ages 14 and 21, were shot in the shoulder and leg, respectively, at the scene, where 47 spent shell casings were recovered.
Investigators believe multiple shooters opened fire with several weapons, authorities told WTXF.
In Benton Harbor, Michigan, one person was killed and six others wounded when gunfire broke out near a liquor store early Monday. Marlon Tyree Bowman, 19, died at the scene from multiple gunshot wounds to his chest, WNDU reported.
Another seven people were injured on Sunday in Henderson, Nevada, when bikers with the Hells Angels, the Vagos and the Outlaws got into a shootout on a highway just 17 miles from Las Vegas, police said.
The first mass shooting of the holiday weekend took place a day earlier in Memphis, Tennessee, where four people were wounded, according to the Gun Violence Archive, which defines such incidents as at least four people being shot or killed excluding the shooter.
All told throughout the US, five mass shootings occurred on Saturday, followed by seven on Sunday and another two on Monday, according to Gun Violence Archive data.
At least 17 mass shootings have been tallied throughout the US in the week since the Uvalde bloodbath, GVA data shows. During that time there have been various calls for gun control.
Many Democratic governors surveyed by the Associated Press following the Uvalde shooting said they believed people under the age of 21 should be barred from buying semi-automatic guns, as well as ammunition magazines being limited to no more than 10 rounds.
Uvalde shooter Salvador Ramos bought the weapons he used in the attack just after his 18th birthday two weeks ago.
Of Republican governors who responded to the Associated Press, just Vermont’s Phil Scott said he supported gun control efforts.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy said “no” when asked if he backed bullet limits. “Stricter gun laws are not a solution to this problem — we must focus our attention on the status of mental health in our communities,” Dunleavy’s office told AP in an email.
James Alan Fox, a professor of criminology, law and public policy at Northeastern University, said holiday weekends generally have more violence due to the presence of parties and alcohol.
“Holidays always seem to have more mass shootings because you have large groups of people gathering for a party where there’s alcohol and sometimes there’s a gun,” Fox told The Post on Tuesday.
The 14 mass shootings tallied over the Memorial Day weekend was “not that unusual,” Fox said, given that there’s been roughly one per day in US on average in the last few years.
Fox acknowledged “bad things can happen” when alcohol, people and guns mix, but said he doesn’t believe the number the number of mass shootings will necessarily rise during the upcoming summer months.
“Yeah, summer is coming and on July Fourth weekend, we’ll probably see many [mass shootings], but I don’t see this as a harbinger of worse things to come,” Fox said. “The one thing that does concern me is we’ve seen a surge in gun purchasing. And it’s hard to commit a mass shooting without a gun.”
