After another gun attack in the USA: How to deal with gun violence?

Status: 01/23/2023 10:07 a.m

The man who robbed a Chinese New Year celebration and then a dance club shot himself. What remains are many dead and injured and the question of how the USA deals with “mass shootings”.

By Nils Dampz, ARD Studio Los Angeles

It ends up in a white van in a parking lot. “The suspect is dead,” LA County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a news conference. The end of an hour-long chase. Special forces approaching the van heard a shot.

The 72-year-old man of Asian descent shot himself. The sheriff doesn’t yet know why he killed ten people.

The man fired immediately

It begins in Monterey Park, a few miles northeast of Los Angeles. Tens of thousands celebrate the Chinese New Year on the streets, in restaurants and clubs on Saturday evening. Monterey Park has a large Asian community. On the fringes of the celebrations, the first shots are fired in a dance hall.

“He shot immediately,” says an eyewitness to CBS, who wants to remain anonymous. The first crime scene is the “Star Ballroom Dance Studio”. According to the plan, the dance event there would have lasted until half past eleven. The first emergency call is made about an hour beforehand.

“It could have been a lot worse”

“Many injured – gunshot wounds” it says in the radio traffic of the rescue services. Ten people are killed, five women, five men. Ten people are injured, seven of whom were still in the hospital on Sunday evening. The first police officers were on site after three minutes. The culprit was probably gone by then.

The shots apparently only fell when many of the revelers were no longer there. Chudy Chu is the county congresswoman: “It could have been a lot worse. Just hours before we were all together, just a block away.”

Ritualized process after “mass shootings”

An hours-long pursuit begins for the police on Saturday evening. And at the same time, what always happens after these “mass shootings” begins. A ritualized process. Politicians condole and condemn gun violence. President Joe Biden wrote on Twitter that his thoughts are with the dead and injured.

Vice President Kamala Harris is in Florida and says: “Everyone here knows this violence has to end”. Since January 1, 36 people have been killed in “mass shootings” in the United States. The site has that gunviolencearchive.org collected.

After a 14-hour search, the perpetrator is caught in the town of Torrance, southwest of Los Angeles.

Image: via REUTERS

The perpetrator is dead, but the uncertainty remains

The second crime scene: still Saturday night, another dance club, this time in the city of Alhambra, a few kilometers away. The perpetrator carries a semi-automatic pistol with an extended magazine. Two bystanders disarmed the man, says the sheriff. They are heroes – and again: It could have been worse. The 72-year-old can flee again – in a white van. It ends – about 14 hours later in the town of Torrance, southwest of Los Angeles.

“Feel safe now. You’re not in danger anymore,” said Congresswoman Chu, who is responsible for Monterey Park. But Susan Rubio, a member of the California Senate, says: “It’s not over yet. Children in particular are now anxious, insecure. Support the local teachers. They now have a difficult task ahead of them.”

USA: Monterey Park perpetrator is dead

Nils Dampz, ARD Los Angeles, 23.1.2023 5:57 a.m

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