Over the weekend, two mass shootings took place within 24 hours, leaving Americans shocked, saddened, frustrated and full of questions for our leaders.
The first shooting took place Saturday morning in El Paso, where a gunman opened fire in a Walmart store, killing at least 20 people and injuring dozens. On Monday, officials raised the death count to 22 people, the El Paso Times reported.
The second mass shooting took place less than 24 hours later in a bustling section of downtown Dayton, Ohio. There, suspected gunman Connor Betts, 24, opened fire shortly after 1 a.m. Sunday. At least nine people died, including Betts' sister, and at least 27 people were injured, the Dayton Daily News reported. Responding police fatally shot Betts within a minute after Betts opened fire.
That makes at least 31 people who died last weekend as a result of mass shootings -- less than a week after a gunman killed three people and injured 13 others at a garlic festival in Gilroy, California.
The onslaught of shootings is a somber reminder that this type of violence happens anywhere, at anytime -- and even though a shooter may have targeted a specific group of people, the victims can be anyone.
And as the rest of us watch in horror, we're left wondering what will happen next.
At LAist, our colleagues have expressed new fears -- they no longer feel as safe in public, that the unpredictability of these shootings makes even going to a sporting event unsettling, and more.
And we know they're not alone.
Tell us your thoughts on the recent mass shootings in the U.S. How do they make you feel? Are you considering changes in your day-to-day lives as a response? We want to start a healthy conversation, and we want to hear from you.
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