Atlanta shooting leaves two teenagers dead, three injured

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Two male teenagers, ages 14 and 16, were killed in a shooting that took place near an apartment complex in Atlanta, Georgia, on Saturday.

The shooting ensued following a dispute on social media, and some of the victims involved were Atlanta Public School students, according to local police who also believe multiple shooters were involved but that information has not yet been confirmed. 

ABC News reported that the teenagers were found dead at the scene. The three victims who were injured were an 11-year-old boy, a 15-year-old girl, and a 15-year-old boy hospitalized with injuries.

Atlanta Deputy Chief Charles Hampton Jr. told reporters, "I hate being here talking about kids and gun fire. We just ask that parents know where your kids are, know what they're doing, check rooms."

"It's just too many guns in the hands of our youth," he added.

Atlanta witnessed a similar shooting last month after a verbal dispute left one person dead and five injured. All victims involved ranged between 15 and 21 years old.

Just last night, a 14-year-old and a 15-year-old, both males, were shot in the head and died in a shooting near Benito Juarez High School in Chicago’s Lower West Side neighborhood. 

Two other victims, a 15-year-old boy and a 15-year-old girl, were injured and hospitalized. 

It is worth noting that mass shootings have shocked the country on numerous occasions, reigniting debate on gun control, a contentious cultural issue that has made little progress in US Congress.

In June, US President Joe Biden pleaded for lawmakers to pass stricter gun control laws, including a ban on assault weapons, in a bid to clamp down on unprecedented levels of mass shootings across the United States that have been turning American communities into "killing fields". So far, no action has been taken. 

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