May shootings in U.S. show an astonishing increase over March and April

The figures are more alarming than April where there was a 37.5 percent increase over March.  In April there were 66 dead from 69 shootings.  The month of May gave us 90 shootings, 69 deaths with 131 wounded, the latter added in this report.  Doing the numbers, that’s another 30.4 percent increase in shootings, an increase of 3 deaths and scores wounded, some of which may have resulted in death by now. 



Guns are easily available to anyone at gun shows



In two cities, Chicago and New Orleans, I listed the shootings as “Multiple” due to so many unknowns by police.  When two major cities like these have a problem this severe, you must examine the gun culture.  Chicago and Illinois have some of the most stringent gun laws, New Orleans and Louisiana some of the loosest.  Since the Chicago dilemma seems to center around heavily armed gangs in the city, the obvious answer would be the proliferation of weapons.

In multiple shootings over the Memorial Day holiday, there were 10 deaths and 41 wounded.  The Day after Memorial Day, New Orleans experienced several shootings resulting in 3 deaths and 6 wounded.

But the figure that shocked me almost as much as the increased percentage in shootings was the 131 woundings.  Some of these were severe, life threatening, therefore possibly resulting in additional deaths by now.  How can an American citizenry look at numbers like this and not be horrified?  Especially after my recent post, “Canada Laws prove that gun control works,” illustrating the enormous difference in shootings and gun deaths between our two countries.

Now here are the grim statistics:

• May 2, Dallas, TX, 2 dead, man and woman, fatally shot in an apartment.
• May 2, Kissimmee, FL, husband suspected of shooting and killing his wife and another man and wounding his pregnant daughter.
• May 2, New Orleans, LA, 3 people shot in three different incidents.
• May 2, Gilbert, AZ, the infamous racist, neo-Nazi J.T. Ready family shootings leaving 5 dead including himself.
• May 2, San Antonio, TX, 16-year-old girl shot in her front yard at her birthday party.
• May 3, South San Francisco, CA, 3 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents shot while serving “high risk” warrants.
• May 3, Carson, CA, 14-year-old shoots and kills his father in his home.
• May 3, Ellicott City, MD, man shot and killed woman then believed to have killed himself.
• May 4, Albion, MI, homicide shooting one block from a police station.
• May 6, Cincinnati, OH, 6 wounded in shootings at a party.
• May 6, Albion, MI, shots fired seriously wounding a man.
• May 6, Plainfield, NJ, 3 shootings in area leaving one man dead and two wounded.
• May 7, Pleasanton, CA, mother and daughter shot, expected murder, suicide.
• May 8, Tulsa, OK, security guard and patron shot at night club.
• May 8, Scottsdale, AZ, member at Scottsdale Gun Club accidentally shot himself in the chest and had life-threatening injuries.
• May 8, Thornton, CO, son dead, dad in critical condition after shootings.
• May 8, Yuma, AZ, shooting a trailer park leaves one man in serious condition.
• May 8, Tunica County, MS, in the first Mississippi highway shooting, Nebraska man is shot to death on Interstate 55.
• May 9, Mesa, AZ, man shot and killed by police after threatening another man with a gun.
• May 9, Fort Carson, CO, 2 wounded by gunfire resulting from a car crash.
• May 10, Miami, FL, police officer and immigration officer shot by carjacker who eventually shot himself.
• May 11, Tunica County, MS, second Mississippi highway shooting killed woman.
• May 11, Yuma, AZ, 2 people killed after road rage events called act of self-defense.
• May 11, Oakland, CA, 1 man killed, 1 man wounded in East Oakland.
• May 12, Page AZ, man accused of shooting and killing his girlfriend.
• May 12, Newark, NJ, 1 man shot and killed and security guard wounded at social club.
• May 13, Harrison Township, OH, fight in club parking lot leaves 2 wounded.
• May 13, Gainesville, FL, 2 people are wounded in a tent-city altercation.
• May 13, Los Angeles, CA, Idaho wide receiver Ken McRoyal killed when attending a Hollywood party.
• May 13, Buckeye, AZ, man dies from gunshot wound by suspected illegal immigrant.
• May 13, Raytown, MO, jogger killed by passing car with no apparent motive.
• May 14, Zanesville, OH, 18-year-old shot in the neck on street.
• May 14, Tucson, AZ, man shot and wounded by neighborhood resident when he wouldn’t stop firing his own gun.
• May 15, Port St. John, FL, 5 dead after mother shoots 4 kids, then herself.
• May 16/17, Columbus, OH, 2 shootings a 2 days in close proximity, one connected to cocaine.
• May 17, Louisville, KY, 3 people shot and killed and 3 others wounded in a two-hour gun spree.
• May 17, Fort Wayne, IN, 2 Arizona men dead from different shootings in 2 neighborhoods.
• May 18, Cape Girardeau, MO, 2 Arizona men dead from shooting that appears to be murder-suicide.
• May 18, West Bloomfield, MI, 17-year-old fatally shot by his 74-year-old grandmother.
• MAY 18, Phoenix, AZ, a man and his pit bull dog were shot and killed after a physical struggle for a gun/
• May 19, Palmetto, FL, 2 drive-by shootings resulting in a police chase that ended with suspects’ car crashing into another car.
• May 19, Phoenix, AZ, man killed in shooting believed to be related to sale and purchase of a stolen car.
• May 19, New Orleans, LA, man wounded in Algiers section of city.
• May 19, Philadelphia, PA, man shot and killed in No. Philly.
• May 19, Philadelphia, woman shot and wounded in the neck and mouth.
• May 20, Philadelphia, PA, man shot multiple times pronounced dead in southwest Philly.
• May 20, New Orleans, husband accidentally shot his wife, also in Algiers section.
• May 20, Louisville, KY, 2 off-duty officers wounded by gunfire close the location of prior-week deadly shootings.
• May 20, Independence, MO, unidentified man killed inside a residence, one of five shootings this Sunday.
• May 20, Plant City, FL, 4 people shot and critically injured in a vehicle.
• May 21, Tempe, AZ, 2 men are dead in apparent murder-suicide.
• May 21, Oklahoma City, OK, 8 people shot after NBA playoff game between the Thunder and the LA Lakers, one in critical condition.
• May 21, Golden Valley, AZ, man fatally shot his girlfriend, and after barricading himself, shot himself.
• May 24, No. Omaha, NE, 1 16-year-old dead and 15-year-old critically injured in two shooting.
• May 24, Baltimore, MD, man shot and killed in East Baltimore.
• May 24, Seattle, WA, father shot in head is dead in one of several Seattle shootings over just a few days.
• May 25, Knoxville, TN, 2 men wounded by guns in East Knoxville.
• May 25, Avondale, AZ, female in critical condition after shooting in high school parking lot.
• May 25, Phoenix, AZ, man killed during argument at a house party.
• Memorial Day Weekend, Chicago, IL,, 10 dead and 41 wounded from shootings throughout the city.  Most violent period was hour-and-a-half stretch early Sunday morning when 13 people were shot.
• May 26, Seattle WA, man wounded in leg from shooting apparently meant for someone else.
• May 26, Charleston, WV, shooter waved gun at pharmacy workers and is shot and killed by one of workers.
• May 26, Tulsa, OK, 2 shot and wounded, both in serious condition.
• May 26, Tulsa, OK, teen is shot and killed after her high school graduation.
• May 27, Seattle WA, 4 drive-by shootings early Sunday morning.
• May 27, Seattle, WA, home invasion left man with life-threatening gunshot wound in his chest.
• May 27, Kansas City, KS, 4 shootings in six hours; 1 in apartment bldg., another shot on highway, man shot through window of jeep was critically injured, the fourth when an SUV pulled up beside man shooting.
• May 27, Glendale, AZ, man arrested for reportedly injuring his girlfriend’s son and killing her cat with a BB gun, while intoxicated.
• May 28, Chicago, IL, member of Coast Guard killed on South Side.
• May 29, Phoenix, AZ, woman dead from shooting; husband suspected.
• May 29, New Orleans, LA, 9 shot, 3 killed including 5-year-old at birthday party.  Woman actually killed on way to party.
• May 30, Seattle, WA, 2 dead 3 wounded from shooting at local café.
• May 30, Indianapolis, IN, man shoots to kill one, wounding 4, before fatally shooting himself.
• May 31, Sacramento, CA, drive-by shootings at opposite ends of city.
• May 31, San Bernardino, CA, one shooting, man shot multiple times in back but expected to survive.  The second shooting, mother and baby suffered minor wounds.

PEACE!

August 2012 Shootings Report: 342 shootings, 77 dead, 265 wounded

Two kinds of reports keep being issued that the gun nuts cannot argue with.  The first is a list of mass shootings circulated by the Brady Campaign for Gun Violence, the other a periodical review of miscellaneous gun violence recently reported by CNN, “By the numbers: Guns in America.”  The facts are there for President Obama to see and let the American public know just what he will do to stop the onslaught of gun deaths.  Any rhetoric would be wasted on Mitt Romney.

Gun massacres in 2012: Oakland, Calif. in April, 7 were killed, 3 wounded; Neo-Nazi J.T. Ready killed 5 in Gilbert, Ariz., including an infant and himself in May; James Holmes killed 12, injuring 58 in an Aurora, Colo. movie in July; and the Sikh Temple shooting in Oak Creek, Wis. in August, 7 dead 3 wounded.  There are others dating back to the Columbine school shooting to the Tucson, Ariz. Bloodbath in 2011 that killed 6, severely wounding U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords.

Here’s a look at the numbers.  According to the Gallup Poll, only 26% of Americans favor a ban on handguns; most gun advocates agree handguns should be allowed in the home for protection.  310 million nonmilitary firearms in the U.S. as of 2009, almost one for each person in the country.  Only 47% told Gallup they owned a gun in 2011, which works out to two per household.  These are staggering figures making the U.S. unique in the world for gun ownership.

There are more numbers if you are interested that you can see on the CNN site above.  In the meantime, we are dealing with 2012 here and so far gun violence across the nation has proved to be escalating.  In my monthly shooting reports there have been 1,056 shootings since March resulting in 432 deaths.  Keep in mind that these figures are extremely conservative since I depend entirely on the media for my data.  The CDC reports 31,347 firearm deaths annually.

Here are the August 2012 results:

DATE	CITY/STATE	DEAD	WOUNDED	SHOOTINGS
8/1/2012	Amite, LA	1	1	2
8/1/2012	Chicago, IL	2	7	9
8/2/2012	Homestead, PA	1	3	4
8/2/2012	Chicago, IL	4	10	14
8/3-8/4/12	Chicago, IL	0	10	10
8/3-8/4/12	Patterson, NJ	3	1	4
8/5/2012	Omaha, NE	0	2	2
8/5/2012	Oak Creek, WI (Sikh Temple)	7	3	10
8/7/2012	New York, NY	0	10	10
8/8/2012	Tucson, AZ	0	1	1
8/8/2012	Chicago, IL	2	5	7
8/9/2012	Dothan, AL	3	0	3
8/9/2012	Detroit, MI	2	0	2
8/9/2010	Chicago, IL	1	3	4
8/10/2012	Seattle, WA	0	2	2
8/11/2012	Chicago, IL	0	21	21
8/11/2012	Tucson, AZ	2	1	3
8/12/2012	Washington, DC	0	2	2
8/12/2012	Oakland, CA	1	4	5
8/12/2012	Boston, MA	4	2	6
8/13/2012	Milwaukee, WI	1	6	7
8/13/2012	College Station, TX	3	4	7
8/14/2012	Dayton, OH	0	2	2
8/14-8/15/12	Chattanooga, TN	0	2	2
8/15/2012	Reno, NV	0	1	1
8/15/2012	Washington, DC	0	2	2
8/15/2012	Chicago, IL	1	5	6
8/16/2012	LaPlace, LA	2	2	4
8/16/2012	Muscatine, IA	0	1	1
8/17/2012	Atlanta, GA	0	2	2
8/17/2012	Phoenix, AZ	0	1	1
8/18/2012	Malden, MA	0	2	2
8/18/2012	Detroit, MI	1	1	2
8/18/2012	Odessa, TX	1	6	7
8/18-8/19/12	Chicago, IL	6	30	36
8/19/2012	Oakland, CA	0	2	2
8/19/2012	St. Louis, MO	2	1	3
8/20/2012	San Jose, CA	1	1	2
8/20/2012	Chicago, IL	0	3	3
8/20/2012	Cincinnati, OH	0	1	1
8/21/2012	Baton Rouge, LA	1	1	2
8/22/2012	Chicago, IL	2	0	2
8/23/2012	Chicago, IL	0	19	19
8/24/2012	New York, NY	1	8	9
8/24/2012	Chicago, IL	3	4	7
8/24/2012	Stuttgart, AR	0	3	3
8/24/2012	Surprise, AZ	0	2	2
8/24-8/26/12	Chicago, IL	9	37	46
8/25/2012	Rochester, NY	0	3	3
8/25/2012	Prospect, CT	0	1	1
8/25/2012	Oakland, CA	1	3	4
8/25/2012	Wilkinsburg, PA	2	1	3
8/25/2012	Scottsdale, AZ	1	0	1
8/25/2012	Tulsa, OK	1	0	1
8/25/2012	Muscatine, IA	0	1	1
8/26/2012	Wausaukee, WI	0	1	1
8/27/2012	Chicago, IL	0	10	10
8/27/2012	Perry Hall, MD	0	1	1
8/27/2012	Jacksonville, FL	0	1	1
8/28/2012	Randleman, NC	0	2	2
8/28/2012	Charleston, WV	2	3	5
8/30/2012	Avondale, AZ	0	1	1
8/31/2012	Old Bridge, NJ	3	0	3
	TOTALS	77	265	342

In the 6 months I have been doing this report, there have been 1,398 shootings resulting in 509 deaths.  After adding wounded to the report in June, 885 have been injured.  And these are the bare minimum figures but at least point out when and where the violence is occurring as a national representation.

You can link to earlier reports here: March, April, May, June, July.