The Gun Violence Archive classifies a mass shooting as one in which four or more people are injured or killed. Since 2020, the U.S. has had more than 600 mass shootings each year, and this year is no different. This weekend’s violence saw shootings in four states. That followed the killing of 18 people and wounding of 13 more in a shooting that left many speechless in Lewiston, Maine’s second-largest city, reports Scripps News. Three day later, a mass shooting in Texarkana, Tex., left three people dead and three others in the hospital after a fight broke out at a party. Early Sunday, two people were killed and 18 others were injured in a shooting in the popular Tampa neighborhood of Ybor City.
Emmitt Wilson, the father of one of the victims, a 14 year-old, said, "It’s painful, man, to see your child laying there. And there’s nothing I can do but stand behind the yellow tape and watch them take his body away. I can’t go see him. This is my last time seeing him," he said. During that same time frame, police responded to an incident in which 15 people were shot in Chicago. In Indianapolis, another nine were injured with one dead following a shooting there. "Our children need us and this, tonight, is another example of why it’s important for us to have conversations with our youth and continue to educate them about gun violence, about settling disputes, and just how to have a good time and go home safely," said police officer Samone Burris. The Gun Violence Archive said 580 mass shootings have occurred so far this year. At that rate, 2023 is on pace to be the year with the highest mass shooting total in U.S. history after 610 in 2020, 690 in 2021 and 647 in 2022.
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