Sunday, July 24, 2011

How Many Is Too Many?

We are, all of us, horrified at the number of people killed in the Norway terrorist attack; it is hard to take into our minds that one person killed so  many other people. 
Looking at the number of people killed in just this incident below, it struck me that we probably lose as many people in separate shootings in a single day in the United States, pretty much every day.  I couldn't find any data for gun deaths PER DAY in a quick check of available information; but with 50 states, DC, and assorted territories, whatever the number is, it adds up.  But in smaller, more distributed numbers, with more people committing the violence, it is easier for us to become immune to feeling shock or horror.

from MSNBC news:

Multiple people shot to death at Texas roller rink

Incident takes place during private birthday party in Dallas suburb

NBC News and msnbc.com
updated 2 hours 37 minutes ago 2011-07-24T03:31:07 BREAKING NEWS
Six people were shot to death and four others wounded Saturday at a roller rink in the Dallas suburb of Grand Prairie, NBCDFW.com reported.
The shooting at Forum Roller World took place just after 7 p.m. when an argument during a party got out of hand and someone pulled a weapon and opened fire, Grand Prairie police told the NBC station.
In all, 10 people were shot, six of them fatally, including the gunman, NBCDFW.com reported.
The gunman died of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound, police said. The condition, identities and ages of the survivors were not immediately known.
The Dallas Morning News said the shooting occurred during a birthday party.
Grand Prairie is about 15 miles west of downtown Dallas.

2 comments:

  1. Honey, I said "Blow out the candles," not "Blow away the candles!"

    In all seriousness, though, isn't it sad that guns are so pervasive, making it seem almost ho-hum that we hear yet another story about some gunloon going nuts over some tiny thing and blowing people away. 6 dead and 4 injured, and it hasn't even made it to CNN.com.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Guns are bad news for America.

    ReplyDelete