Bullets and bullet casings. Chalk lines drawn on the ground. Bullet holes. Shattered glass. Fractured metal. Splintered wood. Flashing lights from police and first responder vehicles. Bodies, injured and lifeless, and blood. Always, always bodies and blood.
Screaming people. Crying people. Alarms. Rushing feet on the floor. Doors locked and doors knocked open. Sirens. Gunfire. Always, always gunfire. And then silence ... or what sounds like silence, save for whimpering, moaning, and gasping for air.
These are the sights and sounds at a mass shooting.
Some people may escape unharmed. Some people are hurt slightly. Some need recovery time and heal pretty well. Some need recovery time and are permanently injured. Some require long-term recovery. Vigils. Public outcry. Some are buried. Always, always there are burials.
These are the results of a mass shooting.
Pulse Nightclub. Virginia Tech. Sandy Hook Elementary School. Luby's Cafeteria. McDonald's restaurant (San Ysidro, California). University of Texas. Columbine High School. Edmond Post Office (Oklahoma). Inland Regional Center. American Civic Association. Fort Hood. Washington Navy Yard.
These are the deadliest mass shootings in the past fifty years.
Interestingly, five out of the above-listed twelve incidents occurred in the twentieth century, over the course of thirty-three years. The seven remaining, all occurring in this century, took place over the course of just nine years.
Mass shootings are, indeed, more frequent and more deadly.
Now, we have the mass shooting yesterday at the Pulse Nightclub in Orlando, Florida, a gay nightclub, which was frequented by gay and straight people alike. The night when the shooting took place was the club's Latin Night, which drew people from the gay and straight communities each year.
The massacre at Pulse Nightclub is the worst mass shooting in modern U.S. history. Fifty persons killed, including the shooter, as of this writing, and fifty-three persons injured ... a total of 103 persons hit. The second-largest mass shooting (Virginia Tech) had less than half that total in injured and killed combined.
It was estimated that there were approximately 300 patrons in the nightclub at the time of the shooting. With the total count of persons shot at Pulse at 103, the shooter killed one-sixth of all patrons, hitting one-third of them in total. Dozens are still in the hospital, many of them listed in critical condition.
The shooter pledged his allegiance to ISIS. His father, who has openly supported the Taliban in Afghanistan, said his son had been seeing men kiss and it upset him greatly. The shooter also legally bought an assault rifle (not used for hunting) and a semi-automatic handgun. He bought them legally in spite of being investigated by the FBI twice and even being on a terror watch list, which a background check did not show. (It is being reported that he may have attempted to buy body armor, but was refused.) He was even licensed and worked as a private security
guard. I believe this was a hate crime against the gay community and an act of terrorism on U.S. soil.
Other FBI spokespersons have said that the Bureau is severely lacking in resources to be able to follow all those individuals who are under watch or suspicion. In a news conference today, FBI Director James Comey said that he felt confident that the Bureau had done everything it could regarding the Pulse Nightclub shooter. I strongly disagree with Comey. In fact, I would suggest that, if the FBI did the best it could, then we foolishly believe in the Bureau's capability to protect us.
How does an individual, who has been investigated more than once, was
once on a terror watch list, and whose father openly supports the
Taliban, buy these weapons legally? How does an entity do its best in protecting us by not really protecting us?
I will tell you how. Because politicians, those in power who can change things for the better, are unwilling to do so. It is a disconnect; they have their own security details and security plans, unlike what the vast majority of Americans have. Aside from a cognitive understanding of "people need to feel safe", which they openly espouse, where is their individual sense of responsibility to act upon that understanding? Where is their corporate sense of responsibility? It is nonexistent.
To be clear, there are, indeed, several individual members of Congress who want to do, and try to do, the right thing. However, the reality is that Congress is made up of far greater numbers than those who are willing to do the right thing. The Executive branch of government totals one person, the President. The Legislative branch of government (Congress) is made up of 535 persons (435 in the House of Representatives and 100 in the Senate). The Judicial branch of government includes nine persons (currently eight). That is a total of 545 persons. You need, at the very least, the majority of all of those 545 persons to make the necessary changes (i.e. laws, enforcement, funding). This is not even counting the governors and state legislatures, which also have a say in their respective states' practices, among the number of those in power. Where is the corporate will?
Bottom line, the governing bodies in this country are unwilling to protect their citizens.
Terry
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