Cities, schools and police boost planning, hike patrols and seek more mental health assistance to prevent another explosion of violence.
Through June 1 this year, more than 8,000 people across the United States have been killed in gun violence, 300 fewer deaths than during the same period in 2021 but over 1,000 more than in 2020, according to a Washington Post analysis of2022 is on track to be among the deadliest years for shootings since the turn of the century, even if it falls short of 2021’s devastating toll.
Just this week, 500 police chiefs were in San Francisco for a conference on violent crime co-sponsored by the Major Cities Chiefs Association and the Police Executive Research Forum . On Wednesday, Tulsa Police Chief Wendell Franklin, who was attending the gathering, rushed to catch a flight back home after the shooting there, said Chuck Wexler, PERF executive director.
“It used to be called an ‘active shooter’ situation, but we now term it ‘mass violence,’” Moore said. “The key is stopping the threat and at the same time recognizing that the threat has evolved, and we want to get to the location and gather information as quickly as possible. … Those are the strategies. The key, like anything else, is execution.
But the executive director of the Texas Municipal Police Association said he worries the nation’s police agencies are unprepared to handle the volume of mass shootings taking place in the United States, in terms of manpower and equipment. Rodney Shotwell, the superintendent of Rockingham County Schools in North Carolina, said he’s imploring students to
Many mayors also said they believe that the country’s violent trajectory will continue if stricter regulations on firearms sales are not introduced. The U.S. Conference of Mayors on Friday released a letter signed by a bipartisan list of 255 mayors asking congressional leaders to pass heightened background checks and other gun safety bills.
“You chose to put politics over the people of Dayton,” the letter stated. “You chose to put politics over the promises you made.”