The Las Vegas shooting is the deadliest in modern US history, but it certainly isn’t alone.
How did this happen again? That is the question on the minds of Americans after yet another mass shooting — this time on the Las Vegas Strip for the Route 91 Harvest Music Festival.
On October 1, a gunman opened fire from the Mandalay Bay Hotel’s 32nd floor toward an outdoor concert across the street, which was attended by some 22,000 people. At least 59 were killed and approximately 527 injured. The shooter, who was later identified as 64-year-old Stephen Paddock, killed himself before police could apprehend him.
The Las Vegas shooting is the deadliest in modern US history. President Donald Trump described the attack as “an act of pure evil.”
Las Vegas isn’t alone in mass shootings, however. Throughout both the Obama and Bush administrations, a number of deadly incidents rocked America: Pulse night club in 2016, killing 49; San Bernardino in 2015, killing 14; Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012, killing 27; Virginia Tech in 2007, killing 32 — to name a few. And each time, the gun control debate in America has dominated the news agenda.
It’s an open secret that the United States does not have sufficient gun control laws. And it can thank the National Rifle Association (NRA) for that. The NRA intends to block any legislation to restrict gun ownership, and this includes an assault weapons ban that has been proposed again and again since 2004.
With reports that Paddock was found dead in his hotel room with at least 10 rifles, along with 18 additional firearms, explosives and thousands of rounds of ammo at his home, the gun debate is certainly not going anywhere.
The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Fair Observer’s editorial policy.
Photo Credit: Andrey Bayda / Shutterstock.com
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