Two mass shootings in the US have left 29 people dead within 24 hours, the latest such attacks in a nation torn over how to tackle gun violence.
A gunman armed with an assault rifle killed 20 people on Saturday when he opened fire on shoppers at a packed Walmart store in El Paso, Texas.
Photo: AP
Less than 13 hours later, a lone shooter killed nine people in Dayton, Ohio, early yesterday before being shot dead by responding police officers.
The attacker opened fire at about 1am on a street in the popular bar and nightlife Oregon district.
Police were working to identify the shooter and the FBI were on the scene.
The incident came just hours after the mass shooting at a Walmart store in Texas, which has reignited debate about the US’ “epidemic” of gun violence.
‘COWARDICE’
US President Donald Trump described it as “an act of cowardice” and police are treating it as a possible hate crime.
One suspect was taken into custody, while authorities were studying an extremist manifesto purportedly written by him.
Footage shot with cellphones appeared to show multiple bodies lying on the ground in the store’s parking lot, while other footage showed terrified shoppers running out of the store as gunfire echoed.
El Paso Police Chief Greg Allen confirmed that in addition to the 20 confirmed fatalities in El Paso, there were 26 wounded.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said three Mexican citizens were killed and Mexican Minister of Foreign Affairs Marcelo Ebrard said six others were wounded.
News reports said the ages of victims being treated at hospitals ranged from two to 82 years.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese