Al Mayadeen English

  • Ar
  • Es
  • x
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Features
  • Videos
    • NewsFeed
    • Video Features
    • Explainers
    • TV
    • Digital Series
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Features
Videos
  • NewsFeed
  • Video Features
  • Explainers
  • TV
  • Digital Series
Infographs
In Pictures
  • Africa
  • Asia
  • Asia-Pacific
  • Europe
  • Latin America
  • MENA
  • Palestine
  • US & Canada
BREAKING
Al Mayadeen correspondent to southern Lebanon: Israeli warplanes launched a raid on the Ksar Zaatar neighborhood in western Nabatieh.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The tower destroyed by the Israeli occupation in Gaza includes media offices, including Al Mayadeen's bureau.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: Four fetuses and three premature babies died at Nasser Medical Complex due to malnutrition
Lebanese Ministry of Health: One person was killed in an Israeli airstrike on a car in the town of Burj Qalawieh, south Lebanon.
Al Mayadeen correspondent: The first ship of the Maghreb fleet delivering aid to break the siege on Gaza departs from the port of Gammarth in Tunisia.
Channel 12: Airspace closed at Ramon Airport due to fears of drone infiltration
IOF Spokesperson: Sirens sounded over an aircraft infiltration in the Bir Ora area, and details are being examined
Drone infiltration sirens sound north of the Gulf of Aqaba
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out five extremely violent raids on the western areas of Gaza City
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Gaza: The Israeli occupation carried out major bombings in the Gaza Strip, the most violent since October 7

10 years on Sandy Hook, US still plagued with school shootings

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: Agencies
  • 14 Dec 2022 17:47
  • 1 Shares
4 Min Read

US President Joe Biden remembers the Sandy Hook shooting and renews a promise to pass a ban on semi-automatic rifles.

  • x
  • Sandy Hook 10 years on. Source: Getty Images.
    Sandy Hook 10 years on (Getty Images)

Ten years have passed since a shooter at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut killed 20 children and six school employees.

US President Joe Biden said the tragedy compelled everyone to reevaluate their "fundamental principles and if this can be a democracy that protects the most innocent" in a written statement designating Wednesday, the anniversary, as a day of remembering.

In the wake of the massacre, many demanded tighter gun restrictions. However, the death toll from school shootings keeps climbing as debates over gun control continue ten years on, with nothing don on the ground. 

Read next: $73 mln settlement from Remington to Sandy Hook families

Since Sandy Hook, there have been 189 school shootings in the US each of which has resulted in at least one fatality, according to research maintained by the independent K-12 School Shooting Database research group. 

Seventeen were "active shooter situations" - defined as "when the shooter killed and/or wounded victims, either targeted or random, within the school campus during a continuous episode of violence."

Despite making up a minor part of all shooting episodes, those incidents result in more than a third of all fatalities. In total, 279 died from being killed on school property during, before, or after school hours, including weekends.

A memorial for the victims of Sandy Hook was opened in November to the public, not far from the school grounds. Victims' names were carved into a wall that circled a sycamore tree.

Related News

Seoul presses Washington after Georgia raid on South Korean workers

Maduro warns of threats, urges 'battle for truth' to defend Venezuela

Ban on semi-automatic rifles

Congress passed laws extending background checks and strengthening procedures to keep firearms out of the hands of potentially dangerous persons after 19 children and two teachers were shot dead at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, in May of this year.

But despite the country seeing mass shooting after mass shooting, Congress has repeatedly failed to reauthorize a stronger measure outlawing assault guns that expired in 2004. Republicans' objection, which invokes the right to bear arms under the Constitution, is a major cause of this slowness.

Ten years on, President Joe Biden has renewed a promise to pass a ban on semi-automatic rifles.

He signed a landmark gun bill into law in June, but it fell short of reinstating the so-called assault-weapons ban that had been in effect before 2004. The effectiveness of this and other proposed gun control measures in preventing school shootings is still up for dispute, with arguments on both sides being made.

Read next: US launching initiative to reduce gun violence, claims Biden

Biden admits to failure

Biden said on Wednesday that America should feel "guilt" collectively for its failure to address gun violence. "We have a moral obligation to pass and enforce laws that can prevent these things from happening again," Biden said in a statement.

"I am determined to ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines like those used at Sandy Hook," he said.

The massacre in Newtown, Connecticut, left 20 children and six adults dead in a five-minute shooting spree by a young man named Adam Lanza, who was armed with an AR-15 military-style assault rifle. Lanza later killed himself.

The shooting shocked America and the world, sparked heightened security measures at schools, and renewed a contentious fight for gun control laws that continues a decade later.

  • United States
  • Gun Violence
  • Joe Biden
  • Sandy Hook

Most Read

The damaged building in the Katara neighborhood, Doha, Qatar, September 9, 2025 (Social media)

Hamas delegation survives Israeli assassination attempt in Qatar

  • Politics
  • 9 Sep 2025
Pro-"Israel" conservative Charlie Kirk shot during Utah speech

American far-right activist Charlie Kirk shot dead during Utah speech

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025
Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza.

Uprising against Volker Turk at the Human Rights Council over Gaza

  • Politics
  • 12 Sep 2025
A screengrab from the ad played on Fox News. (X Screengrab)

Fox airs ad warning Trump not to let Netanyahu 'play' him on Gaza

  • US & Canada
  • 11 Sep 2025

Coverage

All
The Ummah's Martyrs

Read Next

All
President Nicolas Maduro gestures to supporters during the inauguration of a monument in China's honor on the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, in Caracas, Venezuela, Wednesday, September 3, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Maduro warns of threats, urges 'battle for truth' to defend Venezuela

Damage is seen after an Israeli strike targeted a compound that hosted Hamas' political leadership in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2025. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)
Politics

Netanyahu informed Trump before deadly attack in Doha: Reports

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio hold a joint press conference at the Prime Minister's Office, during Rubio's visit, in occupied al-Quds, occupied Palestine, Monday, September 15, 2025 (AP)
Politics

Netanyahu warns of Israeli isolation, calls to boost self-reliance

Spain axes €700Mln arms deals with 'Israel' over Gaza genocide
Politics

Spain axes €700Mln arms deals with 'Israel' over Gaza genocide

Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • x
  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS