The sequence, tragically familiar in the United States, was the usual one. First it was learned that there was an armed guy in Lewinston, the second most populated city in the small State of Maine, in the northeast of the country. Later, he had performed in “multiple settings,” which in the end turned out to be two: a bowling alley and a restaurant. The police then reported “several victims,” without giving further details, and that the suspect was on the run and “active.” The clarifications were accompanied by a warning for residents to collect themselves at home until further notice. The photo of the murderer, a white man with an anxious expression, in a hunting position, skinny, tall, with a beard and an assault rifle with a scope at the ready, did not bode well within a few minutes. The city hospital was put on alert. And in the end, the fatal confirmation from CNN arrived after 9:00 p.m.: according to police sources, the suspect killed 16 people on Wednesday night and left dozens of people injured, “between 50 and 60.”
This is, according to Gun Violence Archive, a sentinel organization for gun violence in the United States, the 565th mass shooting so far this year. To add to the macabre list, an episode of this type has to result in four people injured or killed by bullets, not counting the assailant. The victims also cannot be members of the same family. The count shows the result of almost two mass shootings per day in 2023. This week alone, three have been recorded before the one in Maine, with three deaths in total in events in Illinois, Colorado and North Carolina. Until this Wednesday, if the preliminary figures of the last incident are confirmed, the deadliest had occurred in May in Monterey Park, California (16 murdered) and Allen (Texas), with eight.
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