A white man in his 20s shot and killed 20 people and injured 26 more at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas, on August 3. Just 13 hours later, another gunman killed at least nine people and injured 16 more in Dayton, Ohio. The weekend’s violence marked an estimated number of 300 mass shootings in the United States so far in 2019, if one defines a mass shooting as an attack that kills four or more people.

Police shot and killed the gunman in Dayton. The gunman wore body armor and carried 100-bullet magazines to arm his high-powered rifle. Law enforcement believes he could’ve killed dozens of people if the police had not shot him within 30 seconds of opening fire. His identity and motivation is unclear.

Police were able to detain the gunman in El Paso. Detectives point to a manifesto, a 2,300-words, hate-filled, anti-immigrant statement that links to the shooter, as the shooter’s motivation for committing the crime.

In response to the back-to-back mass shooting, President Donald Trump called for a crackdown on violent video games and mental health laws. He proposed legislation to ensure perpetrators of mass shootings and hate crimes receive the death penalty and expressed support for “red flag laws,” which would permit authorities to seize guns from people who are believed to be dangerous.

“In one voice, our nation must condemn racism, bigotry and white supremacy,” Trump said in the Diplomatic Room at the White House. “These sinister ideologies must be defeated. Hate has no place in America. Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart and devours the soul.”

The mayor of Dayton, Ohio was disappointed with Trump’s speech, and criticizes his comments as “unhelpful.” She claimed there was “absolutely not” enough being done at the Federal level regarding gun control. When the president announced he will be visiting the stricken cities, the mayor joked about how she wasn’t sure Trump would come to Dayton, referencing how the President mistook Dayton for Toledo at the end of his speech.

Following the aftermath of the shootings, in Ohio, Republican Governor Mike DeWine advocated for a set of new gun control laws. The law would “allow courts to issue Safety Protection Orders which would remove firearms from potentially dangerous individuals,”
institute background checks on all gun sales with limited exceptions and increased penalties for people violating gun laws, including felons who illegally possess firearms.”
However, it remains unclear whether the laws will be passed since Republicans control both the House and the Senate in Ohio’s legislature, and the chambers have been reluctant to pass gun control laws in the past.

<Christina Peng/ Arnold O. Beckman High School 10th Grad>