America may have mourned the senseless deaths of 19 elementary school children and two adults in Uvalde, Texas, over the Memorial Day weekend, but the carnage of gun violence in many American cities continued.
With the White House pushing for gun control and President Joe Biden including 9mm handguns in the conversation, a bloody Memorial Day weekend saw at least 30 people killed and dozens more injured in gun violence.
The deadliest city proved to be Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, where at least 13 people lost their lives in 16 different shootings, according to CBS Philly. Among the dead were a father and his nine-year-old son who were fatally shot while sitting in their vehicle a few yards from their home.
Gerald Parks, 37, and his son Jamel Parks, 9, were among 13 homicide victims who lost their lives this weekend in Philadelphia. The Parks family is planning a balloon release at the scene of the drive-by shooting at 6 PM tonight to honor the memory of the young boy and his dad. pic.twitter.com/Al8tniM1wA
— Madeleine Wright (@MWrightReports) May 30, 2022
“I just heard a whole bunch of gunshots and I came outside and just seen him in the car slumped over, unresponsive,” the wife and mother of the deceased said.
The Chicago Sun-Times reported that Chicago “lived up to its violent expectations,” reporting that 48 people were shot over the long holiday weekend, with nine fatalities. A 16-year-old girl was among the wounded.
There were at least four people killed in Baltimore, including a 17-year-old boy, according to The Baltimore Sun. Two men were also killed in a triple shooting Saturday night and a woman was fatally shot.
“I am sickened that this plague continues to grip our city,” Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott said. “I will continue to push every public safety agency to do more, but it will also require all of us to collectively say enough is enough, that we’re not going to accept or allow violence in our city.”
The city is on pace to exceed last year’s homicide total.
In Oklahoma, one person was killed and seven people were injured in a shooting on Saturday night at an outdoor festival, according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation.
And on and on it goes, although this type of violence is not often cited by those pursuing a gun control agenda. Critics will say this violence is a clear sign of cultural rot in America, similar to the argument made by popular podcaster Joe Rogan, who says America does not have a gun problem, it has a mental health problem.
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Tom Tillison grew up in Maryland before moving to Central Florida as a young teen. It is in the Sunshine State that he honed both his passion for politics and his writing skills. Tillison also contributes to BizPac Review.
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