Woman with baby stroller shot in Upper East Side, Manhattan
As the killing spree in the US continues to deepen the divide between pro-gun and anti-gun supporters, a 20-year-old woman was shot as she pushed a stroller on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
The killing spree in the US continues and this time the victim is a 20-year-old woman rolling a stroller down a Manhattan street on Wednesday night, according to the police.
The relationship between the deceased and the 3-month-old baby in the stroller was unclear said the police, however, the baby remained unharmed. The shooting occurred around 8h20 pm in Manhattan’s Upper East Side.
The suspect remains loose as the police are still searching. New York City Mayor Eric Adams said during a news conference that "A woman is pushing a baby carriage down the block and is shot in point-blank range. It shows just how this national problem is impacting families,” adding that "It doesn't matter if you are on the Upper East Side or East New York, Brooklyn."
The shooting occurred shortly after New York Governor Kathy Hochul unveiled a legislative package intended to strengthen the state's gun restrictions.
The Democratic governor's action came in reaction to last week's decision by the US Supreme Court to overturn a long-standing New York state statute that restricted the carrying of a concealed firearm in a public space.
According to Hochul, a conceptual agreement has been reached that expands open carry gun prohibitions in sensitive areas, including government buildings owned by the federal, state, and municipal governments, hospitals, and childcare centers, as well as parks, zoos, playgrounds, and public transit. According to Hochul, the legislation would also provide protection for educational institutions and houses of worship.
"The Supreme Court decision was a setback for us, but I would call it a temporary setback," said the NY Mayor in a news conference.
A year of US shooting sprees
The recent spree of tragic shootings has pushed guns to the forefront of a national debate as US leaders grapple with how to reduce the alarming rate of violence.
Earlier this month, as a response to mass shootings, senate members announced a bipartisan framework that offers measured gun curbs and efforts to improve school safety and mental health programs.
Although the proposal does not present more radical solutions to the mass shootings crises in the US, it is a modest move that will pave the way for more legislation to put an end to gun violence in the future.
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There have been hopes among people in leadership to pass the law quickly, perhaps this month, before the political momentum dies out as it was only recently when mass shootings claimed tens of lives in Uvalde and Buffalo.
According to the framework, juvenile records of gun buyers under the age of 21 will be made available when they undergo background checks. The shooters that committed their crimes in Uvalde and Buffalo have committed mass shootings in recent years, though they're both only 18. Furthermore, the agreement will offer money to states to enforce "red flag" laws that will facilitate confiscating guns from people considered potentially violent.
The framework would also require more people who sell guns to obtain dealer licenses, which entails that they'd have to implement background checks on purchasers.
In June, Democrat Governor Kathy Hochul signed a law that prohibits New Yorkers under the age of 21 to buy semiautomatic guns. With that, New York became the first city to enact major gun control initiatives following a rampage of deadly mass shootings across the country.
Republicans and Democrats once again have shown a sharp divide in their approach to containing gun violence. Gov. Greg Abbott of Texas had stated that after the Uvalde school shooting that the government should boost school security and mental health facilities, but he was confident that tighter gun regulations will be merely ineffective in containing mass shootings.