Mass shooting in Seattle parking lot injures five, one critically
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According to the Seattle Times, "dozens and dozens" of bullets were fired in the Rainier Beach neighborhood.
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The parking lot where the shooter(s) opened fire. (Youtube screengrab/Komo news)
According to The Seattle Times, a mass shooting in Seattle's Rainier Beach neighborhood late Friday (US local time) left 5 people wounded. Police Chief Adrian Diaz reported that "dozens and dozens" of bullets were fired.
One of the five is in serious condition at Harborview Medical Center, while two other men and a woman are being treated for non-life-threatening injuries, according to a hospital representative. A third victim was treated at the scene.
Check out: Deadliest US mass shootings in 2023 so far
The police are currently looking for at least two individuals. Diaz reported that the victims were in their twenties and had been attending a community outreach event where food, clothes, and toys were distributed.
CNN reported that Mayor Bruce Harrell and Diaz rushed to the scene of the neighborhood following the shooting. Diaz stated that it was not immediately clear if the victims were targeted or if they just happened to be at the site.
"Honestly, this is really disturbing when you have victims that were really just trying to do an outreach effort, trying to help people…get people on the right path- And this is what they end up getting hit with."
Diaz decried the violence, saying the police had lately recovered the most firearms in 15 years.
Just last week, four individuals lost their lives in a mass shooting that occurred in Hampton, a small city in western Georgia.
First half of year sets new record in US mass killings since 2006
A database maintained by the Associated Press and USA Today, in partnership with Northeastern University, on July 15, revealed that the first six months of this year have set a new record in mass killings in the US, with 28 mass killings and 140 victims to date -- the deadliest record since 2006.
As the death toll increased just about every week, some are looking for solutions to prevent guns from being handed to people prone to becoming violent.
The database showed that the last record of 27 mass killings was previously set in the second half of 2022.
The state of affairs is so grim that it has prompted US President Joe Biden to issue a statement about the situation. On the occasion of the Fourth of July, he decried the "wave of tragic and senseless shootings in communities across America," while calling for "meaningful, commonsense" gun control reforms.
Experts say that such an occurrence is owed to the fact that the population is growing while the number of guns in the US is increasing.
Attempts to address the issue of mass killings have been channeled into reforming gun laws, which haven't brought any substantial change.
Of the 28 mass killings, 27 involved guns.
