President Joe Biden condemns series of shootings on US Independence Day

According to CNN, local police said that 5 people were killed and 4 others were injured in a shooting in Philadelphia on the night of July 3 (local time). Then, another shooting occurred overnight in Fort Worth, Texas, which also took the lives of 3 people and injured 8 others.

Not stopping there, on the afternoon of July 4, the United States continued to witness many shootings on their Independence Day. According to the organization specializing in statistics on gun violence, Gun Violence Archive (GVA), there were 5 more people injured in Lansing, Michigan, 4 people injured in Charlotte, North Carolina. Local media also reported that there was another shooting in Akron, Ohio in the early morning of the same day, injuring 4 people.

“Over the past few days, our nation has once again endured a tragic and senseless wave of shootings in communities across America,” Biden said in remarks referring to the shootings in Philadelphia, Fort Worth, and Lansing, as well as examples of gun violence in Baltimore, Wichita, Kansas, and Chicago.

“As our nation celebrates Independence Day, we pray that one day our communities will be free of gun violence,” the US leader said.

Last year, a gunman killed seven people and wounded dozens during a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois, just outside Chicago. This year, the area held a memorial service along with a parade and other traditional festivities.

Referring to the memorial service for the victims of the shooting, Mr. Biden said: “In just a few moments, a day of patriotic pride turned into a scene of pain and tragedy.”

In Philadelphia, police said they had captured the shooter, but his motive was unclear. The 40-year-old suspect, wearing body armor and a ski mask, opened fire indiscriminately from a military-style assault rifle in the city's Kingsessing neighborhood.

Meanwhile, in Fort Worth, as of the afternoon of July 4 local time, no arrests had been reported. On Twitter, Mayor Mattie Parker wrote: “I am deeply saddened by the news of the mass shooting in Fort Worth last night. My heart breaks for the victims.”

There have been at least 346 mass shootings in the United States this year, according to GVA data. GVA defines a mass shooting as an incident involving a gun in which at least four people are injured or killed, not including the shooter. Last year, more than 44,000 people died from guns in the United States, of which about 24,000 were suicides.

Praising the gun control measures passed in Illinois after the Highland Park attack, Mr. Biden said: “More must be done… to address the epidemic of gun violence that is tearing apart our communities. I urge other states to follow Illinois’ lead, and continue to urge Republicans in Congress to come to the table for meaningful, common-sense reforms that the American people support.”