(Written by an American expat living in the European Union)
There's been another tragic mall shooting in America today which has left 3 people dead and 5 people injured. This has occurred a little over 2 hours ago. As such this is a developing story.
This breaking news story is making headlines across the nation and around the world. It highlights what is yet once again the nation's gun laws, the need for emergency planning and preparedness, for people to have an evacuation plan or a plan to shelter in place while there is a known active shooter at large. At this time CNN reports that none of the victims have been identified and there is no known motive for the shooting according to Chief Bill Mcmahon, Howard County chief of police. What is known is this lone active shooter had a large amount of ammunition.
In the United States we have an average of about 11,000 fire arms deaths registered annually. No other major industrialized country in the world has anything close to these types of tragic statistics. The Columbia Maryland shooting today illustrates that we in America have an on-going problem with gun violence in our nation that authorities do not seem to be able to adequately address.
This important breaking news story deserves your attention. Please see a blockquote from the BBC below in the developing story.
BBC News: Mall shooting in Columbia, Maryland, leaves three dead
The shooting took place at a popular weekend shopping destination, not far from Washington DC
Three people have been killed in a shooting at a shopping centre in Maryland in the US, police say.
The incident was reported at 11:15 (16:15 GMT), after which Howard County Police urged people inside the suburban Columbia Mall "to stay in place".
They said one of the dead was "located near gun and ammunition" - he was suspected to be the gunman.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/...
The BBC reports the single active shooter is believed to be among the dead on the mall's second floor.
On CNN Ken Ulman (Howard County Executive on the Maryland Mall shooting) has reported that local officials have matters well in hand, safety has been restored to the mall and local area officials have trained extensively to deal with this type of emergency. Therefore the public should remain calm.
Various CNN reports tell us that the single active shooter is believed to have committed suicide and SWAT teams are presently going through the mall contacting people who have sheltered in place and are evacuating them. CNN reported that witnesses are presently being brought by police to a movie theater in the mall complex to give evidence, as well as witness statements in the incident.
Since there was a change in consciousness in America after the New Town shooting tragedy; reporting on shooting tragedies from mainstream media sources seems more intense. The tragedies however seem to unabated in their continuation.
(From British newspaper the Mirror)
It is now believed that one of the three dead people is the suspected gunman.
As reported by CNN, there have been reports of multiple casualties. Reports suggest workers inside the mall and customers have been hiding in storerooms from the gunman.
There are about 200 shops inside the shopping centre, which is about 30 miles north of Washington.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/...
Whatever side of the gun debate that you're on, one thing is clear we in America can, should and must do better than this to protect the American people. To that end, this article invites you to write to your member of Congress today and tell him or her how you feel about this issue because democracy is not a spectator sport. It can only work if you care enough to get involved.
Here is one final tragic statistic, America leads the world in deaths caused by gun violence with approximately 11,000 deaths annually. This gives new meaning to the words "only in America" where despite having arguable the most militarized police forces anywhere in the world, the American public cannot be kept safe from random acts of gun violence. As such this is a clear failure on law enforcement. Perhaps if we in America would finally invest in a universal medical system like every other major industrialized nation in the world , people would have regular access to mental health care just like they do in Europe, Canada, Australia and every other major industrialized county in the world, where the incidents of these types of tragedies are far lower. In fact, comparatively almost non-existent.