Two separate mass shootings within 24 hours left 30 people dead and several others injured in the US states of Texas and Ohio, including one thought to be a hate crime. It’s the latest in a string of such incidents in America that have shocked the nation.
The first shooting took place in the southern border town of El Paso in Texas, where a 21-year-old gunman opened fire at a crowded Walmart store, killing 20 people and wounding 26 others on Saturday, 3 August.
Hours later, a man killed nine people before being shot dead himself by police in Oregon district, a historic neighbourhood known for its nightclubs, bars, art galleries and shops, in Dayton, Ohio early on Sunday, 4 August, police said.
"The shooter is deceased. There are 9 others also deceased. At least 16 others went to area hospitals with injuries," Dayton police said.
The nine killed included his sister, AP reported. His 22-year-old sister Megan was the youngest of the dead.
At least 26 others were injured, Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley told reporters.
US-based journalist Matthew Keys tweeted a video from the area.
Currently, the FBI is on scene to assist in the investigation.
Carper said Oregon was "a very safe part of downtown" Dayton and very popular with visitors.
"Fortunately we had multiple officers in the immediate vicinity when this incident started so there was a very short timeline of violence, for that we've very fortunate. We're still interviewing obviously a lot of witnesses as well as officers to determine if anyone else was involved," said an official.
Walmart Shooting
The first shooting that tore through a Walmart jammed with back-to-school shoppers in El Paso on Saturday marked another bleak milestone in a nation pocked by gun violence: the 250th mass shooting of 2019.
And the rampage notched an even darker statistic: It occurred on the 215th day of the year, meaning there have been more mass shootings than days so far this year.
"The ages and genders of all these people injured and killed are numerous in the age groups," El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen said. "The situation, needless to say, is a horrific one." Texas authorities are investigating the El Paso shooting as a possible hate crime, Allen said.
For several minutes on Saturday morning, the packed Walmart store, where shoppers were busy buying back to school stuff for their kids, filled with gun smoke and the echo of gunfire. Footage shot on mobiles appeared to show multiple bodies lying on the ground in the store's parking lot.
‘Hate Has No Place in Our Country’: Trump on Ohio, Texas Shootings
President Donald Trump denounced two mass shootings in Ohio and Texas, saying "hate has no place in our country."
Addressing reporters in Morristown, New Jersey, Trump on Sunday said "we're going to take care" of the problem. He further said he's been speaking to the attorney general, FBI director and members of Congress, and will be making an additional statement Monday, AP reported.
According to him, the problem of shootings has been going on "for years and years" and "we have to get it stopped." Trump also pointed to a mental illness problem in the U.S., calling the shooters "really very seriously mentally ill."
(With inputs from PTI and AP)
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