GUN violence has likely become an epidemic across the United States and in the wake of another deadly mass shooting in Kentucky, reports say that the gunman, who also died in the incident, was able to live stream the attack.
Kentucky authorities revealed that the shooter was able to live stream his attack on Instagram when he opened fire at his own workplace.
5 people were killed when the police confirmed in the evening that a fifth victim, who was a 57-year-old woman, had died due to her injuries.
The police also shot and killed the shooter, who has been identified as Connor Sturgeon, a 25-year-old employee of the old national bank in Louisville, Kentucky.
Interim Police Chief Jacquelyn Gwinn-Villaroel in a press conference said that the suspect’s weapon of choice was a rifle, but did not specify whether it was an assault weapon like the ones commonly used in such shootings in the country.
On the other hand, a spokesperson for Meta, the parent company of Instagram, said that they are in touch with U.S. law enforcement and quickly removed the live stream of the incident.
Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear condemned the incident, saying that he also lost two people due to the incident.
Meanwhile, a witness of the tragic incident talked about the fear she felt and how she was able to keep herself safe.
Sadiqa Reynolds, CEO of perception institute, an organization devoted to reducing bias and discrimination, was on the spot when the incident happened.
“You hear shots and then you say, no, maybe that’s not what that was, maybe it was something else. But the shots were followed by a note from someone saying, ‘don’t go out. There’s an active shooter, don’t go out’. And so, I took cover, I stayed inside, and I just waited, waited for things to be resolved,” said Sadiqa Reynolds, CEO of Perception Institute.
Reynolds also believes that gun crime is an epidemic not only in her city but across the United States. She also called for officials to act responsibly to cross political lines for the safety of residents.
“I think that gun crime is an epidemic in this city and across the country, and we need our elected officials to act responsibly and to do something. We do not need any more thoughts and prayers; we have people who have lost family members today. It is terrifying to live this way, it is terrifying. We don’t deserve it, and we need elected officials to act responsibly. There are some weapons that none of us should have access to. If we are not in the military and fighting a war, we just should not be able to get our hands on those types of weapons. So I think that we are going to have to force our elected officials to cross political lines to have real conversations about how to keep us safe,” added Reynolds.
Sadly, the tragedy is only one of the thousands of shooting cases across the United States. According to the gun violence archive, the U.S. Has suffered 146 mass shootings so far this year, an average of more than one incident per day.
More than 400 teens aged between 12 and 7 have been killed by gun violence in 2023 alone, while 71 children under 12 years old have been killed.
Noting that as per American standards, a mass shooting is defined as an incident of gun violence in which four more people are killed or injured, not including the suspect or the shooter.
