Three killed, including child, in Orlando shooting: US

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
10 Apr 2023 08:19
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The shooting is identified as a suspected domestic violence incident by local police.

Police lock down the scene of a shooting at Central Visual and Performing Arts High School in St Louis, Missouri in 2022. (AP)

Florida authorities reported that three people, including one child, were killed in a deadly shooting in Orlando.

The shooting took place at 2:25 am local time on Sunday (06:25 GMT) and was identified as a suspected domestic violence incident by police.

"The suspect came out of the house and shot at officers who returned fire," the police said, stressing that the "suspect was transported to the hospital and was confirmed deceased."

The 29-year-old suspect shot and murdered three individuals in all, according to Orlando police.

"Upon entering the home, 3 individuals were found with gunshot wounds. 1 was a child who was transported by officers to a local hospital. All 3 individuals are confirmed to be deceased," the police added.

It is worth noting that the police officers who responded to the shooting were put on paid administrative leave following the incident.

The mayor of Orlando Buddy Dyer has sent his condolences to the families of the victims.

A mere few days after the Nashville school murders, Florida’s Republican-led legislature passed a vote permitting gun owners to carry around firearms and guns without a state permit - approved by Governor Ron DeSantis.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, the mass shooting that took place at Nashville's Covenant school was one of over 144 mass shootings in the US this year so far.

The big picture

The debate on banning guns in the US was given a lot of impetus in May 2022, when a string of mass shootings that left dozens dead culminated in Congress discussing a ban on assault rifles.

The US House of Representatives passed in July 2022 a bill that stipulates banning assault weapons, marking a first in decades in light of a mass shooting epidemic in the country.

The anti-gun legislation was approved by 217 House members and opposed by 213 in the body controlled by a Democratic party majority.

The United States is deeply divided about reforming gun laws despite the aforementioned erratic episode of gun violence. The bill passed the House floor with the support of two Republicans who joined efforts with their Democratic counterparts and backed the measure.

The bill passing marked the first ban on assault rifles since 1994 when Congress passed a 10-year ban on weapons and certain high-capacity magazines. Lawmakers, however, let the ban expire in 2004, sending the sales of arms nationwide skyrocketing.

The bill bans the sale, import, manufacture, or transfer of certain semi-automatic rifles, which have long been used in the United States in mass shootings, especially over mid-2022, such as in Buffalo, New York, Uvalde, Texas, and Highland Park, Illinois.

Other measures include bolstering background checks, a ban on high-capacity magazines, maintaining safe storage of firearms, and allowing for the liability of gun manufacturers for crimes committed using their products.

Gunmakers in the United States, on the other hand, have seen a tremendous hike in earnings from their sales of AR-15-style rifles, a US House Oversight Committee probe revealed last year while lawmakers and the public call for holding the industry accountable for crimes committed using their products.