An ATF K9 unit surveys the area near the scene of a shooting in Austin, Texas, on Saturday. Photo: Sergio Flores/Getty Images
Mass shootings in three states overnight has taken the total number of such events for this year to 267, the Gun Violence Archive announced Saturday.
Driving the news: The nonprofit research group has since Friday recorded seven incidents of gun violence across the U.S. that meet its definition of a mass shooting — when four or more people have been shot.
- The group recorded mass shootings on Saturday in Cleveland, Ohio, (three deaths and four injuries); Austin, Texas (13 injuries, including two critical); Chicago, Illinois (one killed nine injured).
- On Friday, mass shootings were recorded in Savannah, Georgia (one death, seven injuries); Winston Salem, North Carolina (one killed, three injured); Dallas, Texas (five wounded) and; Seattle, Washington (two deaths, two injuries).
What they're saying: James Alan Fox, a criminologist and professor at Northeastern University, told AP there had been a "worrisome ... blend of people beginning to get out and about in public" as pandemic restrictions lift.
- "We have lots of divisiveness," he said. "And we have more guns and warm weather. It's a potentially deadly mix."
The big picture: The Gun Violence Archive's announcement comes five years on from the Pulse Nightclub shooting in which 49 people were killed and 53 others were wounded.
- While many Democrats have pressed for reforms to gun laws to reduce gun violence, some Republicans have pushed back on changes, citing concerns about government overreach and the Second Amendment.
Go deeper: Biden calls Pulse Nightclub "hallowed ground" on mass shooting anniversary