Month: June 2021

In the decade beginning in 2010, an average of 5.5 mass shootings occurred each year in the United States.

During 2020, when much of the country was under coronavirus lockdowns, the number of mass shootings sharply declined, with only two recorded during the year.

Now that coronavirus restrictions are lifting across the country, mass shootings are again on the rise. The Violence Project’s database has yet to include shootings from 2021, though media reports have chronicled several shootings for the year.

Mass shootings are defined by the Congressional Research Service as having four or more victims, not including the shooter, and taking place, at least in part, in a public location. Excluded from the count are murders attributable to any other underlying criminal activity, such as gang violence or armed robbery, as well as domestic violence.

James Densley, a professor of criminal justice at Metropolitan State University in St. Paul, Minnesota, and co-creator of The Violence Project’s database, said mass shooters “often target people and places that are somehow representative or symbolic of their grievances.”

In March, two mass shootings a week apart in Georgia and Colorado were part of a growing number of such attacks carried out at retail establishments.

The March 16 shooting at Atlanta-area beauty spas raised concerns of violence against Asian Americans, as well as gender-based violence. Six of the eight victims were Asian American women.

According to media reports following the Atlanta-area attacks, the shooter appeared to have many traits that are commonly shared by other mass shooters as shown in data collected by The Violence Project — including the means to carry out an attack, having suicidal thoughts and having an identifiable crisis point. Media reports said the 21-year-old suspect had recently been kicked out of his parents’ house.

The shooting in Boulder, Colorado, on March 22 took place at a grocery store. Ten people were killed, including a responding police officer. A motive for the shooting, allegedly carried out by a 21-year-old man, is still not clear.

Three other mass shootings in spring 2021 took place at workplace locations. On March 31, four people, including a 9-year-old boy, were killed at an Orange, California, business complex. Police said the 44-year-old suspect knew his victims, having a “business and personal relationship” with them.

On April 15, eight people were killed at a FedEx facility in Indianapolis, Indiana. The suspected shooter, a 19-year-old former employee at the facility, was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at the crime scene. Police have not released information about a possible motive for the shooting.

On May 26, nine people were killed at a rail yard maintenance and dispatch center in San Jose, California. The suspected shooter, 57, worked at the company. He also was found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound at the scene.

Source: Voice of America

While coronavirus infection rates and hospitalizations continue to plummet across the United States, the White House COVID-19 Response Team said Tuesday the Delta variant strain of the virus that causes the disease still poses a threat, particularly among the younger population.

During the response team’s regular virtual news briefing, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Rochelle Walensky told reporters the latest daily average of new cases over the past week fell by 30% to 13,277 cases, and 90% since the start of the year. She said it was also the lowest daily average since March of last year.

She said hospitalizations are also down again this week and have fallen by about 83% since the year began. She credited these encouraging numbers to people getting vaccinated and cited a new CDC study released Tuesday showing the effectiveness of the shots.

The White House’s top adviser on the pandemic, Dr. Anthony Fauci, said, however, variant strains of the virus continue to pose a threat — particularly what is known as the Delta variant, originally identified in India.

Fauci said the Delta variant has become the dominant strain in Britain, and most of those cases are in young people.

Fauci said the variant currently accounts for 6% of the new cases in the United States, and he stressed the need to get young people in the U.S. vaccinated to prevent what happened in Britain. He said studies have shown both current COVID-19 vaccines are most effective against the virus once both doses are received.

With less than a month to go, U.S. President Joe Biden’s goal of getting 70% of the U.S. to have at least one dose of vaccine by July 4th may be in jeopardy. The Washington Post reported Monday that vaccination rates have fallen below one million a day, a significant decline from the peak of 3.4 million per day in April.

White House COVID Response Team Coordinator Andy Slavitt said the administration is doing all it can to encourage people to get vaccinated, particularly minority communities, including opening pop-up vaccination centers requiring no appointment, and coordinating efforts through community centers and faith-based organizations.

Slavitt was hosting his last news briefing, as he is leaving the White House effective Wednesday.

Source: Voice of America

The National Taskforce Committee for Covid-19 Prevention and Control has placed a daily number of Covid-19 infections in the country for June 8 at 2.

All were community transmissions in the capital city Vientiane.

Laos has received 100,620 doses of Pfizer vaccine from COVAX Facility.

Since the vaccines are limited in number and no other provinces in the country have ultra cold storage facilities which can keep the vaccine at -80 degree Celsius like Vientiane, all of the vaccines which are enough for 50,310 people will be given to target groups in Vientiane, according to Dr Latsamy Vongkhamxao Deputy Director of the Department of Communicable Disease Control, Ministry of Health.

“However, the Party and government are coordinating with COVAX Facility and friendly countries to secure more doses of this type of vaccines for vaccinating the people,” said Dr Latsamy.

Laos has an ambitious plan to have around 3.6 million people or 50% of population in the country vaccinated against Covid-19 this year.

Source: Lao News Agency