USA: Massacre with at least 6 dead in Sacramento, California

At least six people were killed and at least 12 were injured in what became known as the Sacramento Firefight. Californiawhere at least two gunmen opened fire amid an altercation.

According to Kathy Leicester, Sacramento Police Chief, around 2:00 a.m. broke out “Big fight” in the city center and a little while later they started to be heard shots.

At least one weapon – stolen – was recovered at the scene of the massacre by police officers conducting the search, who confirmed that “several” gunmen had opened fire.

Ms Leicester said there was a “crowd” on the scene before the tragedy unfolded.

Quarrel outside nightclub

According to US media, the quarrel broke out outside London, a nightclub that opened in 2019. At least one of the people killed had gone to the nightclub, according to the Sacramento Bee newspaper.

Several videos circulating on social networking sites but their authenticity has not been confirmed depict a quarrel involving several people, before a series of gunshots sounded like an automatic rifle.

Eyewitnesses who spoke to American media also spoke about fires that seemed to come from automatic, reports AMPE.

Six people were killed on the spot, three men and three women, all adults, while twelve more were injured, according to police, who have not yet been able to determine the circumstances that led to the tragedy.

Among the injured, some are “serious”, in “critical” condition, said the mayor of the city, Darrell Steinberg, during a press conference.

“We ask the citizens to help us locate the suspects and give us any information that may allow us to shed light on this case,” said the police chief, explaining that so far no suspect has been arrested.

“It was horrible,” Barry Axius, an activist who arrived on the scene a few minutes after the massacre, told local television station KXTV. He described “bloody victims, people screaming, crying, others asking where their brother or mother was, looking for their sons”.

“It is difficult to digest the number of dead and injured,” said Mayor Steinberg. “Our city has a broken heart this morning.”

“Increasing violence through the use of firearms is a scourge on our city, on our state and on our nation, and I support all measures to reduce it,” Steinberg said. “How many more tragedies will it take before we face this disease in our country? “Let’s be honest, it’s sick.”

The elected in particular called for a ban on automatic weapons.

“We can not allow violence with the use of firearms to become normal,” said Gavin Newsom, Gov. California.

The Democratic president Joe Biden He stressed that for the ninth time a community is mourning victims of gun violence and called on Congress to pass tougher legislation.

“Ban ghost weapons. Require a history check for all arms sales. Avoid assault rifles and heavy-duty magazines. “Revoke the immunity of arms manufacturers,” the Democratic president said.

Exchanges of fire in public places are terribly common in the United States – in schools, malls, supermarkets, places of worship, workplaces.

According to the Small Arms Survey, there were some 393 million firearms in the United States in 2017: more than the population. The right to own a firearm is guaranteed by the Constitution.

Countless parliamentary and government initiatives to tighten gun control have ended up in the trash in Congress, where the powerful arms lobby, the NRA, wields considerable influence.

Since the beginning of the year, the Gun Violence Archive has recorded more than 10,700 firearm deaths in the United States, including suicides. Throughout 2021, 45,000 deaths were counted, according to the same source.