Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
How Are You Feeling After The Mass Shootings This Weekend?
Flowers and signs at a makeshift memorial after the shooting that left at least 21 people dead at the Cielo Vista Mall WalMart in El Paso, Texas, on Aug. 5, 2019. Less than 24 hours after the El Paso shooting, a gunman killed at least nine people in downtown Dayton, Ohio. (Mark Ralston/AFP/Getty Images)
()
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.
Support for LAist comes from
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.
-- NORMAL --
-- NORMAL --
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.
Chip in now to fund your local journalism
(
LAist
)
Trending on LAist
-
With less to prove than LA, the city is becoming a center of impressive culinary creativity. -
Nearly 470 sections of guardrailing were stolen in the last fiscal year in L.A. and Ventura counties.
-
Monarch butterflies are on a path to extinction, but there is a way to support them — and maybe see them in your own yard — by planting milkweed.
-
With California voters facing a decision on redistricting this November, Surf City is poised to join the brewing battle over Congressional voting districts.
-
The drug dealer, the last of five defendants to plead guilty to federal charges linked to the 'Friends' actor’s death, will face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison.
-
The weather’s been a little different lately, with humidity, isolated rain and wind gusts throughout much of Southern California. What’s causing the late-summer bout of gray?
Best of LAist