US rocked by 3 separate mass shootings over Easter weekend
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Two teen boys were killed in one of at least three shootings around the country over the weekend, including two in South Carolina.
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US was rocked by three separate mass shootings over Easter weekend.
Gunfire erupted at a party at a short-term rental property in Pittsburgh early Sunday, killing two teenage boys and wounding eight others. It was one of at least three mass shootings throughout the US over the Easter weekend.
The other two shootings, both in South Carolina, left a total of 18 people with bullet wounds, reigniting calls for comprehensive gun control legislation.
At about 12h30 am on Sunday, police in Pittsburgh said equipment that detects gunfire prompted officers to go to an address on Suismon Street where at least ten people had been shot.
Several of the victims were transported to a hospital, including two 17-year-olds who were later pronounced dead by physicians. Others who were shot but survived walked to the hospital on their own.
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Multiple people who had been lured into some type of conflict fired at least 50 gunshots in the home in question, according to authorities. Investigators noted that a few other partygoers who were injured but not shot suffered cuts and broken bones when jumping out of the home's windows in a desperate attempt to flee.
Authorities have yet to make any arrests, while Pittsburgh Police Chief Scott Schubert has promised that his officers will "do everything [they] can to get those responsible."
“This shouldn’t have happened,” Schubert said in an afternoon news conference. “We’re sick about it.”
Airbnb published a statement claiming the person who rented the home has been prohibited from using the site for the rest of their lives.
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According to Airbnb spokeswoman Ben Breit, the person broke a corporate guideline prohibiting parties. "We share the fury of the Pittsburgh community over this awful gun crime," Breit said in a statement. “Our hearts go out to all who were [affected], including loved ones of those who lost their lives, injured victims, and neighbors.”
The police reported that the violence erupted at a party held at a short-term rental, which drew around 200 attendees, the majority of whom were under the age of 18, according to investigators.
The names of the murdered lads were not immediately released by officials.
Shooting in Hampton County
Meanwhile, the shooting occurred early Sunday at a nightclub in Hampton County, South Carolina, injuring nine people. Officials said none of the wounds reported at Cara's Lounge, approximately 80 miles west of Charleston, were fatal, though no arrests had been made yet.
That carnage occurred roughly 90 miles north of, and only hours after, a separate shooting at a mall in Columbia, South Carolina's capital, in which nine people were shot. The injured ranged in age from 15 to 73, and one man, 22-year-old Jewayne Price, was arrested and charged with illegally carrying a pistol after the incident.
Price’s bail was set at $25,000 on Sunday afternoon.
The tragedy in Pittsburgh and South Carolina occurred just as many Christians in the United States were preparing to celebrate Easter Sunday. They happened after at least two other high-profile shootings in the United States.
Six people were killed and 12 others were injured in a shooting in downtown Sacramento on April 3rd. Another shot ten times in a New York City subway on Tuesday.
Police have arrested suspects in both the Sacramento and New York City shootings.
