Violent Fourth of July Weekend Across US Leaves Multiple Dead and Injured

 The Fourth of July is typically a time for Americans to celebrate freedom, however, this past holiday weekend has been marred by a string of mass shootings across the United States that has left multiple people dead and injured. In Washington D.C., nine people were shot and wounded, including two juveniles, early Wednesday. According to Assistant Chief Leslie Parsons of the Metropolitan Police Department, a dark colored SUV was seen driving through the neighborhood, stopped, and then shot at the victims outside enjoying the holiday.

All of the victims suffered non-life threatening injuries. In Baltimore, Maryland, twenty-eight people were shot, two fatally, at a block party on Sunday. Many of the victims were under eighteen. In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a gunman in a bulletproof vest opened fire on the streets of the city, killing five people and wounding two boys, aged two and thirteen, before he surrendered to responding officers. Finally, in Fort Worth, Texas, three people were killed and eight others injured when several men fired indiscriminately into a crowd of hundreds that had gathered in a neighborhood following a festival in the area.

These mass shootings are indicative of a larger problem within the United States. In the last few years there has been an increase in mass shootings, and this has left many people in mourning and calling for change. It is essential for the safety of all Americans that their government takes the necessary steps to reduce the rate of mass shootings. This must start with introducing effective gun control laws, as well as improved mental health services, and better background checks for those buying firearms. Until such measures are put into place, it is likely that the US will suffer more mass shootings like those this past Fourth of July weekend.