America once again bereaved by the scourge of firearms. A shooting broke out on the campus of the University of Nevada Las Vegas, Wednesday, leaving three dead and one injured who was in critical condition that evening. The shooter, believed to be in his 60s, according to NBC News, was shot and killed by university police.
“The threat is over,” Las Vegas Sheriff Kevin McMahill said. At a press conference, he praised the “responsiveness” of the facility’s police, who confronted the shooter. A teacher told NBC News he heard “seven or eight shots.”
UNLV sent an alert to all students to self-isolate. “Run, hide, fight,” the establishment added. Which will be closed Thursday and Friday, and will offer psychological support services to its 28,000 students.
Las Vegas traumatized in 2017
The recurrence of gun violence “is not normal, and we cannot let this become normal,” President Joe Biden said. “The way you get a gun, being able to do these things over and over again… There’s been no change, it’s ridiculous. Continuing to lose innocent lives makes no sense, on campuses, in schools, in stores, in cinemas, it’s ridiculous. It’s even become easier to own a weapon, it’s stupid,” responded basketball player LeBron James.
In 2017, the gaming capital of the world experienced one of the worst gun massacres in the country. A man opened fire from the 32nd floor of a hotel onto a crowd below attending a country music concert, killing 58 and wounding hundreds, before killing himself.
The United States is paying a very heavy price for the spread of firearms on its territory and the ease with which Americans have access to them. The country has more individual weapons than inhabitants: one adult in three owns at least one weapon and nearly one adult in two lives in a home where there is a weapon.
The consequence of this proliferation is the very high rate of firearm deaths in the United States, incomparable to that of other developed countries.
Around 49,000 people died from gunfire in 2021, compared to 45,000 in 2020, which was already a record year. This represents more than 130 deaths per day, more than half of which are suicides.