Jasper County Sheriff shooting: The United States, which has recently witnessed a horrific incident of gun violence during a teenager's birthday celebration, has again glimpsed another incident of a mass shooting where at least nine teenagers were shot in an east Texas residence early on Sunday. According to the statement released by the local officials, the incident happened at a prom after-party attended by hundreds.
Just after midnight, deputies responded to shots fired at a private residence in Jasper County where the party was held and found nine victims with gunshot wounds, according to a statement by the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office.
According to Jasper County officials, the injuries are expected to be non-life threatening.
About 250 people are estimated to have been present at the time of the shooting, according to a statement from the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office.
Eight victims were taken in personal vehicles to Jasper Memorial Hospital in Jasper, Texas, and “at least one” of those were transferred to Christus Southeast Texas-St. Elizabeth Hospital in nearby Beaumont, Texas for further treatment, Jasper County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Karli Cherry said. One person did not go to the hospital, she said.
4 killed in birthday party shooting
Earlier last week, a shocking mass shooting during a teenager's birthday party killed at least four people and injured 28 others. Among those killed was a high school senior who planned to play college football and was celebrating his sister’s 16th birthday. The shooting erupted Saturday night at a dance studio in downtown Dadeville.
President Joe Biden was briefed on the shooting, the White House said, adding that it is closely monitoring the situation and has been in touch with local officials and law enforcement to offer support.
“What has our nation come to when children cannot attend a birthday party without fear? When parents have to worry every time their kids walk out the door to school, to the movie theatre, or to the park?” Biden said in a statement Sunday. “Guns are the leading killer of children in America, and the numbers are rising – not declining. This is outrageous and unacceptable.”
Mass shootings in US surged in past few years
Notably, the country has witnessed a surge in mass killing in the past few years. According to reports, the US is setting a record pace for mass killings in 2023, replaying the horror on a loop roughly once a week so far this year. The carnage has taken 88 lives in 17 mass killings over 111 days. Each time, the killers wielded firearms. Only 2009 was marked by as many such tragedies in the same period of time.
Gruesome records have been set within the last decade. The data shows a high of 45 mass killings in 2019 and 230 people slain in such tragedies in 2017. That year, 60 people died when a gunman opened fire over an outdoor country music festival on the Las Vegas Strip. The massacre still accounts for the most fatalities from a mass shooting in modern America.
