The mass shooting in Maine, in the US, becomes the worst of 2023 and one of the deadliest in history
This Wednesday a mass shooting occurred in the city of Lewinston, in the state of Maine (United States).. A man, identified as Robert Card, opened fire in two different places: a bowling alley and a restaurant. Both shootings have left at least 22 dead and between 50 and 60 injured. If these figures are officially confirmed, it would be the deadliest shooting so far this year in the American country, and one of the worst in the country's recent history (eighth).
The United States is a country known for hosting a large number of such incidents each year.. This 2023, the American country has suffered a total of 36 mass shootings – where more than four people die – that have left a total of 188 dead around the different states.. This makes this record the second highest in the country's history, only behind 2019, according to the Gun Violence Archive.. So far, these are some of the biggest shootings of the year.
January 21, 11 dead. As soon as the year began, on January 21, a 72-year-old man, identified as Huu Can Tran, opened fire on a crowd of elderly people during the Lunar New Year dance in the city of Monterey Park, California.. The incident left 11 dead and 9 injured.. Hours later, the attacker died from an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to the Portland Press Herald.. This shooting is considered the deadliest in history in Los Angeles.
January 23, 7 dead. Two days later, on January 23, a 67-year-old man, Zhao Chunli, killed seven people in two separate shootings in the Californian city of Half Moon Bay.. According to prosecutors cited by the aforementioned media, the man killed four co-workers and injured another.. He later headed to another farm, from which he was fired in 2015, and ended the lives of three other former colleagues.
April 10, 5 dead. On April 10, a 25-year-old bank employee opened fire with a rifle at his workplace, an Old National Bank branch in Louisville, Kentucky. He ended the lives of five other people and injured nine others, while broadcasting it live on his Instagram account. Finally, when the police responded to the scene, they killed the shooter after an exchange of gunfire.
May 6, 8 dead. In the city of Allen, in the state of Texas, Mauricio Delgado, 33, who had a large arsenal of weapons in his home, killed eight people and wounded seven others after opening fire in a shopping center on May 6. Shortly after, the attacker was killed after being shot by a police officer.. According to the authorities, the man had made some publications on his social networks with misogynistic comments and comments about white supremacy, so it would be a racist attack.
May 23, 4 dead. On May 23, authorities imprisoned an 18-year-old man accused of patricide in the city of Nash, Texas.. The boy ended the lives of his father, his mother, his sister and his brother (4 people) after shooting them with a firearm. According to the authorities, the confessed author explained that “he killed his family because they were cannibals and they were going to eat him.”
Long history of mass shootings
Although 2023 has already become the second year with the highest number of mass shootings in its history, the United States has also previously been involved in other incidents of this type that have left a large number of deaths.
59 dead at Las Vegas concert. The deadliest shooting recorded by the country took place on October 1, 2017 in the city of Las Vegas, in the state of Nevada.. The city was hosting the Route 91 Harvest country music concert when Stephen Paddock, 64, opened fire from a nearby hotel room.. The shooting resulted in the death of 59 people – including the shooter – and 851 injuries, in what is considered the worst massacre in the country since the 9/11 attacks.
49 dead in an Orlando nightclub. On June 12, 2016, what is known as the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida, occurred, resulting in 49 deaths and 53 injuries.. A 29-year-old man, Omar Mir Seddique Mateen, entered the party room at 2:02 in the morning and, after swearing allegiance to the Islamic State, opened fire on those present.. After starting a shootout with police officers, the attacker locked himself in the premises, taking several hostages.. Subsequently, three hours later, at 5:00, the SWAT entered the premises and managed to shoot down the shooter.
32 dead at a Virginia university. Another of the most mass shootings in United States history occurred on April 16, 2007 at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.. At 7:15 a.m., 23-year-old South Korean student Seung-Hui Cho fired the first shot in the dormitories of the West Ambler Johnston Hall student residence.. Two hours later he blocked the doors of the building with chains and shot at the students who were present, causing the death of 32 people and wounding another 29.
20 dead at Connecticut school. In the wide catalog of shootings that have taken place in the United States, there is also the one that took place at Sandy Hook Elementary School, in the city of Newtown, in the state of Connecticut.. On December 14, 2012 at 9:30 a.m., Adam Lanza killed his mother in her own home after shooting her four times in the head.. Later, he took his mother's car and went to the aforementioned school with a rifle.. Once there, he opened fire and killed 28 people: 20 children and 8 adults, including the shooter and his mother.
21 dead at Texas school. Another of the most famous massacres in the history of the country took place at Robb Elementary School, on May 24, 2022, in the city of Uvalde, in the state of Texas.. In total, 21 people died and another 17 were injured.. Salvador Rolando Ramos, an 18-year-old young man, seriously injured his grandmother and later went to said school. Once there, outside the premises, the shooter fired several shots for five minutes, and later entered the building through a side door. Once inside, he entered a classroom and killed 19 children and 2 teachers. An hour after being locked in the classroom, the attacker was killed by the US Border Patrol.