As California grappled with a\u00a0mass shooting in Monterey Park\u2002over the weekend that left 11 people dead, within 48 hours, another gunman went on a\u2002shooting spree in Half Moon Bay, just under 400 miles away, killing at least seven people.
\nWithin that short time span, four other mass shootings took place across the United States, with the number of shootings nationwide so far this year already outpacing the number of calendar days.
\nAs of Tuesday, at least 39 mass shootings had unfolded across the country since the year began, according to the\u00a0Gun Violence archive, a nonprofit that tracks the spread of what has been called an\u00a0American disease\u00a0and which defines a mass shooting as a single incident in which at least four people \u2014 other than the shooter \u2014 are shot.<\/p>\n
At least 70 people have been killed and 167 wounded in mass shootings so far in 2023, according to the archive.
\nThose figures mark a historically quick start for mass shootings this year, with more mass shootings recorded so far this month than in any January over the past decade, according to the archive, which has kept records since 2014. This is despite Congress having passed the\u00a0most sweeping federal gun control law\u00a0in 30 years last year, enhancing background checks and encouraging states to pass so-called red flag laws, among other provisions.
\nIn the wake of recent mass shootings, there have been repeated calls for tighter federal gun control measures, as state measures, including in California, face the might of a\u00a0Supreme Court\u00a0that has\u00a0blocked multiple restrictions, including the purchase of high-capacity magazines.
\n“We know the scourge of gun violence across America requires stronger action,” President Joe Biden in a statement Tuesday as he pointed to bills introduced Monday by Senate Democrats, including a “federal Assault Weapons Ban and legislation that would raise the minimum purchase age for assault weapons to 21.”
\n“I once again urge both chambers of Congress to act quickly and deliver this Assault Weapons Ban to my desk, and take action to keep American communities, schools, workplaces, and homes safe,” he said.<\/p>\n
In the deadliest shooting of the year so far, 11 people were killed Saturday night when a\u2002gunman opened fire in a dance studio\u00a0in the majority-Asian American community of Monterey Park as people gathered to celebrate Lunar New Year festivities.
\nTen hours later, early Sunday morning, at least 12 people were wounded after\u00a0gunfire erupted in a Louisiana nightclub, according to authorities, who called it a \u201ctargeted attack.\u201d
\nThe next day, Monday, the state\u2019s second major shooting in three days\u00a0left at least seven people dead and one person gravely injured in Half Moon Bay, according to authorities.
\nThe gunman opened fire at two sites on the outskirts of the city of roughly 11,000 people, about 30 miles south of San Francisco, San Mateo County Sheriff Christina Corpus told reporters.
\nThe shooter was arrested within hours of the first shooting, with video captured by NBC Bay Area showing him surrendering to authorities at a sheriff\u2019s substation.
\n\u201cAt the hospital meeting with victims of a mass shooting when I get pulled away to be briefed about another shooting,\u201d Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday. \u201cThis time in Half Moon Bay.\u201d
\n\u201cTragedy upon tragedy,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n