Xinhua News Agency, Los Angeles, January 24thFeature: Why the shootings keep repeating – Los Angeles residents complain about the proliferation of guns in the United States
Xinhua News Agency reporter Gao Shan Tan Jingjing
In front of the Monterey Park City Hall in California, USA, candles flickered, filled with sadness and anger. A red placard reading “The Problem Is the Guns” stood out.
On the night of the 23rd, hundreds of Los Angeles people gathered here to hold a candlelight memorial service for the victims of the recent Monterey Park shooting.
“Why do the shooting tragedies keep repeating?!” Paul Padilla, an educator holding a placard, asked angrily.
On the 21st, the Monterey Park shooting resulted in 11 deaths and 9 injuries; on the 23rd, the San Francisco Bay Area shooting in Half Moon Bay caused 7 deaths and 1 injury; on the 23rd, the Oakland shooting resulted in 1 death and 7 People get hurt.
Padilla told reporters: “There have been more than 30 shootings in the United States before January is over. This is crazy. This situation cannot continue.” For this reason, the U.S. federal and local governments at all levels must take concrete actions to strengthen gun control.
Padilla’s remarks resonated with the people at the scene. A man shouted: “The shootings happened in elementary schools, supermarkets, and churches. We should strengthen gun control as soon as possible.” A Chinese said helplessly that every time a shooting happened, people were full of shock, sadness and anger , but it didn’t take long to return to calm.
Emma Gallegos, a 61-year-old local Latino resident, came to the memorial service with several neighbors. She told reporters that she lived near the ballroom where the shooting occurred. When the gunshots rang out, she thought it was firecrackers. It wasn’t until the sirens blared and the helicopters began circling overhead that she hurriedly turned on the TV, only to realize that the shooting had happened nearby. “I am very saddened that they have suffered such a tragedy.”
California Governor Newsom said on social media on the 23rd that when he was visiting victims of the Monterey Park shooting in the hospital, he was called to listen to a briefing on another shooting incident. “This time in Half Moon Bay. Tragedy ensues.”
According to statistics from the US “Gun Violence File” website, there have been 39 mass shootings in the United States this year, making it the year with the most incidents of the same type since the website began recording data in 2014. The US media pointed out that there have been more mass shootings this year than there have been days so far this year.
(Tan Jingjing)
[Responsible editor: Dong Jing]