Continuing the tragic yet familiar pattern for American cities, at least 33 people lost their lives and around a hundred others suffered serious injuries across the United States of America in incidences of mass shooting and other violent attacks. Incidentally, according to US authorities, this high casualty number has been recorded within the extended weekend of 4th July. Notably, the US marks its independence on the 4th of July as on this day in 1776, it gained independence from Britain.
However, the 4th of July has historically been one of the deadliest days in the US with violence and mass shootings marring the Independence Day celebrations across the country. Just like this year, a string of mass shooting incidences were recorded in previous years as well. More than a dozen people were killed and 60 others were wounded in mass shooting incidences around the holiday, last year. Similarly, seven people died in a mass shooting at a Fourth of July parade near Chicago in 2022.
11 killed, 55 wounded in Chicago in violent attacks and mass shooting this year
During the extended July fourth weekend, at least 11 people were killed and 55 others were wounded in incidences of mass shooting in the Chicago area alone, as of Friday morning (5th July), as reported by the Chicago Sun-Times. This includes a mass shooting that took place on Thursday (4th July) in which two women and an 8-year-old boy lost their lives.
Mayor Brandon Johnson said that the recent violence “has left our city in a state of grief”.
In another incident, eight people were injured in an attack that took place in Chicago’s Little Italy neighbourhood, shortly after Friday midnight.
It was followed by a shooting incident in the city’s Austin neighbourhood. Six people were injured in that incident.
The 31st Street Beach had been the epicentre of recent stabbings and shootings in this area. Ironically, because of the rampant violent attacks, the officials had precautionarily closed the popular Lake Michigan beach in Chicago which was one of the attack-prone sites in this area yet high casualty figures were reported during the 4th July weekend.
2 killed and 3 injured in deadly weapon attack in California
Police stated that in Huntington Beach, California, two people were killed and three others were injured in an Independence Day attack less than two hours after a fireworks show ended. According to reports, the authorities were responding to an assault with a deadly weapon Thursday night and it ended up arresting a suspect in this incident.
A 15-year-old attacker fatally shot a young man in Ohio
According to Police Chief Jay Holland, a 15-year-old male fatally shot a 23-year-old man on Thursday night at a Fourth of July party. The incident took place at a residence located in the northeastern Ohio community of Niles. The Police later took the minor suspect into custody.
Additionally, the Police stated that a 10-year-old girl, identified as Gracie Griffin, was fatally shot in a Cleveland neighbourhood. The Police were probing the motive behind the murder as well as looking into reasons that sparked the shooting or if the minor girl was targeted.
Philadelphia drive-by shooting kills one, injures 6 others
On Thursday night (4th July), a drive-by shooting in Philadelphia left one dead and six injured. The injured included four minors who were immediately rushed to the hospital. Their injuries were reported to be non-life-threatening. The motive behind the shooting was yet not known.
Three shooting incidences in Boston
During the city’s 4th of July celebrations, the Boston area was rocked with three incidences of shooting in which one person lost his life. One of the shootings took place at around 1:30 a.m. on Friday (5th July) in a park near Boston’s South End neighbourhood.
Around the same time, another incident near the city’s Jamaica Plain neighbourhood left three injured.
The third shooting incident was reported at a gas station in which a victim suffered life-threatening injuries.
A 17-year-old boy suffered a stomach wound in another shooting. The incident took place on Thursday night in a condominium parking lot in East Bridgewater, Massachusetts.
Early on Friday, a woman was fatally shot in her car in Connecticut. She was pronounced dead at a hospital. The victim’s relatives stated that they believed she had just left a Fourth of July party.
North Carolina
Police said that a shooting incident at an unofficial fireworks display left one person dead after a large crowd had gathered in the parking lot of the city. The incident unfolded in High Point, North Carolina.
Mass shooting incident in New York
According to New York’s Albany Police, six victims in age ranges from 16 to 19 suffered non-life-threatening injuries in a mass shooting incident that took place at a large gathering at a home around 12:15 a.m. on Friday.
On Friday morning, a fight broke out at a party which ended in a mass shooting incident in Pontiac, about 50 kilometers northwest of Detroit. Around five teens, all male, were injured however, their injuries were said to be non-life-threatening.
Early on Friday, Police said that four people were wounded in a shooting outside a Tampa adult nightclub after an altercation between the club’s security guard and two men. Police said both suspects were arrested and charged with several crimes.
Two shooting incidents were reported in the St. Louis area during 4th of July gatherings in which two men died and five others suffered injuries.
State Police said that Charles Speer (42) of Kermit, died early Friday after being shot multiple times following a physical altercation at the home of another man in West Virginia.
Earlier on Thursday, a police officer who was there to serve a warrant in Cleveland and an armed person making threats in Yellowstone National Park were among those killed in other shootings.
According to the Carroll County Sheriff’s Office, a road rage incident led to the fatal shooting of a 36-year-old man in Taneytown, Maryland.
Other violent attacks
In New York’s Queens section, an 8-year-old boy was fatally stabbed in an apartment. The Police described the case as a domestic dispute.
Police said that officers later fatally shot a 20-year-old man who held a knife to his 43-year-old father’s throat and refused commands to drop the weapon.
Incidentally, gun violence, violent attacks, and especially the menace of mass shooting have been a tragic yet familiar pattern for American cities which has continued in the first few weekends of summer in the US.
