Source: CCTV news client
July 4 is the United States' "Independence Day", according to the United States "Gun Violence Files" website statistics, during this year's "Independence Day" four-day holiday, almost every state in the United States has been shooting, at least 220 people were shot dead, nearly 570 people were injured. And for the people of Highland Park, Illinois, it was a particularly dark day.
7 deaths and 47 injuries in the shooting in Highland Park, USA Witnesses said it was "both devastating and frightening"
On July 6, local time, 21-year-old suspect Robert Crimo conducted the first hearing of the shooting through live video in prison.
In response to the prosecution's charge of seven counts of first-degree murder, Crimo pleaded guilty on the spot.
Prosecutors in Lake County, Illinois, noted in their pre-case submissions that on July 4, Crimo used assault rifles to fire a total of 83 rounds of ammunition at people who were participating in independence day celebrations, killing seven people and injuring 47 others.
Lake County Serious Crimes Unit Spokesman Covally: Crimo had planned the attack for weeks, brought a high-power rifle to the parade, climbed the fire ladder to the roof of a shop, and shot at innocent people attending independence day celebrations.
On the morning of July 4, the people of Highland Park, located on the northern outskirts of Chicago, held a "Independence Day" celebration parade. This is the first time the city has resumed Independence Day celebrations since the covid-19 outbreak. About 15 minutes into the festivities, a sudden burst of gunfire came from the roof of an outdoor goods store as the parade was marching.
Because independence day celebrations have always had a tradition of firing guns and firing salutes, many people mistakenly thought it was a performance project, but soon, people kept falling, and people realized that a disaster was happening.
Larry, who witnessed the shooting: There were a few intermittent shots, what we thought was a performance on the float, and then the gunfire suddenly went crazy, and as soon as we heard it, we knew it was the gun of the assault rifle.
Garcia: I heard gunshots, the gunmen were reloaded, people were screaming and running around, and the scene was really both devastating and frightening.
Faced with the intense fire of assault rifles, a father was "in a hurry" and hid his 5-year-old son in the trash.
Alexander, the first-hand witness to the shooting: When the shooting stopped for a second, we quickly began to run away again, and he loaded the bullets and started shooting again. I ran to a corner, I ran away with the rest of the family, and I put Alex (my 5-year-old son) in the trash.
For the 78-year-old Nicholas Tredo family, they were not so lucky. A few days ago, Nicholas had just arrived from Mexico to join his family in the celebrations. At the time of the shooting, two family members tried to push the old man's wheelchair away from the scene, but Nicholas was unfortunately killed by a bullet in the head, and two family members were also seriously injured.
Not far from nicholas' family, the McCarthys and his son, Aiden, were closely guarded, and the couple was killed on the spot. According to eyewitness accounts, little Aiden, covered in the blood of his parents, was still unaware of what had happened, and after the gunshots, he walked dazedly down the streets strewn with corpses and blood.
Local people: He shouted "Mommy Daddy", I went back to his mom and dad, and then I saw the scene, it was a massacre.
Eventually, with the help of well-wishers, little Aiden was reunited with his grandparents, and as a young boy, he didn't know that he had become an orphan within a day.
Little Aiden's neighbor: He [Aiden Jr.] doesn't know it yet, and I don't know how they told him about it. How do you say to an 18-month-old, "Your mom and dad are in heaven now"? I really can't open my mouth.
The youngest victim of the shooting, 8-year-old boy Cooper Roberts, was hit in the chest by a bullet from an assault rifle and had a broken spine. Doctors said that after several hours of rescue, although the sports-loving boy saved his life, he would be permanently paralyzed below his chest.
The gunman is usually "lonely and quiet" but posts violent videos on social networks
On the 6th, prosecutors said that before committing the crime, the gunman Clemo wore a wig on his head, covered his face with foundation, and disguised himself as a woman to avoid the attention of the police.
Police confirmed that after the killings in Highland Park, Crimo had also driven to Madison, Wisconsin, adjacent to Illinois, to prepare for an attack on local celebrations, but eventually abandoned the operation due to lack of preparation.
Finally, at 6 p.m. that night, about 8 hours after the crime, Crimo was caught by the police.
According to Paul Crimo, the uncle of gunman Robert Clemo, he looked normal the last time he saw his nephew. Paul also said that Robert was a quiet child, usually alone, lonely and quiet.
Clemo's uncle Paul Clemo: I don't see any indication that this is going to happen.
However, when police looked at Creemo's accounts on multiple social media platforms for the past three years, the content was troubling.
Online, Clemo, under the pseudonym Awake, describes himself as a rapper. In many of the videos he has released, they are full of violent elements.
In a video simulating a campus scene, Crimo wears tactical equipment and throws bullets on the ground. Clermo then turned and went into another room next to the classroom and pressed the button with the word "Launch" written on it.
In a video released last October, Mr. Crimo depicted a gunman with an assault rifle shooting into a crowd, where the gunman was shot dead by police and collapsed in a pool of blood.
During the investigation, the police found that Crimo was very sensitive to a number, and he not only sprayed the number on his car, but also wrote the number on his cheek.
Lake County Serious Crimes Unit Spokesperson Covoli: He [the gunner] has a particular preference for numbers 4 and 7 or 7 and 7 and 4.
NBC analysis believes that the two numbers of 47 may be related to the date of the "Independence Day" of the United States on July 4, and may even have some correlation with former US President Trump.
There is evidence that Crimo has participated in Trump's campaign rallies several times during the 2020 US presidential campaign.
Mr. Clermo's father, Bob Crimo, was also a Republican and a tough gun advocate. Bob Creemo ran for mayor of Highland Park in 2019 but ultimately lost to Democrat Rottlin.
In April 2019, after his father's defeat in the race, Crimo attempted suicide with a machete, according to the ABC; In September of that year, Crimo also threatened to kill the entire family. But at the end of that year, under the sponsorship of his father, Crimo still obtained a FOID CARD issued by illinois.
Police said that at the time of the shooting, Kerry had a total of 5 guns under his name, all of which were purchased through legal channels. These included two high-performance assault rifles of model similar to the AR15, one of which was used by Crimo at the site of the Highland Park parade and the other that was found in the car by police when he was arrested.
Highland Park Mayor Rotling: I don't want to blame the shooting on psychological issues, I just want to say that there are guns on our streets that are used for war, and people can legally get those guns and kill dozens of people.
The US Gun Control Act "Shrinks Seriously" And the people's demands involve partisan disputes
On June 25 of this year, U.S. President Joe Biden signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, despite the White House's high-profile publicity to break the embarrassing situation in which the United States has not introduced any gun control bill in nearly 30 years. However, in the view of USA Today, the bill not only "shrunk" seriously, but also failed to meet the demands of the American people's highest voice at present, "ban the sale of assault rifles".
According to newsweek statistics in June, more than 1/4 of the 80 recent mass shootings were AR15 assault rifles. The semi-automatic rifle is a civilian version of the military rifle M16, which not only has a high lethality, but also has the characteristics of fast rate of fire, long range, light and easy to carry.
Gunners chose the firearm in this year's Buffalo shooting in New York, Uvaldi Rob Elementary School in Texas, and the Independence Day shooting in Highland Park.
According to a joint poll launched by NPR in June, about 60 percent of people want stricter gun control measures; 56% of the public support the ban on the sale of assault rifles such as the AR15 and AK47. And like other major social issues in the United States, the will of the people shows a very obvious partisan antagonism. Among Democratic respondents, a whopping 93 percent would like to see stricter gun control measures, compared to just 28 percent of Republican respondents. In addition, a whopping 83 percent of Democratic respondents supported an assault weapons ban, compared with about 34 percent of Republicans.
Bullock, associate director of Duke University Law School: 30 years ago, the gap between the public opinions of the two parties was about 20 percentage points, which is not small, right? Today, that distance has widened to 50 percentage points or more, and the degree of public disagreement over guns has become one of the biggest major problems in American society.
Since the independence of the United States, the government has repeatedly controlled guns
In fact, in the more than 200 years since the Independence of the United States, the federal government has repeatedly "banned guns" through executive orders.
In 1981, then-Republican President Reagan was assassinated, and White House spokesman Brady was also shot, triggering a wave of social demands for gun control. In 1994, with Reagan's support, then-U.S. President Bill Clinton signed the 10-year Federal Assault Weapons Embargo, which prohibited the civilian sale of 19 types of assault weapons, including AR15.
NBC data shows that the number of large-scale vicious shootings in the United States has dropped significantly in the past 10 years. However, when the bill expired in 2004, Then-US President george W. Bush, a Republican, decided not to extend the bill.
In Al Jazeera's view, the gun problem in the United States has changed from a social public safety issue to a political issue in the past 30 years.
Johns Hopkins University, associate director of the Center for The Prevention of Gun Violence, Chryfas: 50 years ago people bought guns for hunting, and now people buy guns for self-defense.
The violent images filled with the US media have seriously affected the physical and mental health of children, and the culture of violence has been integrated into the "American gene".
Jim Fallon, a professor of neurology at the University of California, after studying his "family history of violence" for more than 400 years, believes that if a country's war lasts for 70 or 80 years, at least three generations will be affected by the "violent factors" that have infiltrated the national character.
And an embarrassing number is that in the 246 years of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the United States has not been involved in the war for less than 20 years.
Carlson, professor of sociology at the University of Arizona: Guns have become part of people's identity, "it is the gun that makes you today", "you are the kind of person who argues for your own rights", "you are the kind of tough guy who can solve things by yourself", this is the meaning of guns.
On the day of the Highland Park shooting on July 4, the National Rifle Association tweeted to celebrate Independence Day in the United States: "It is precisely because of the brave gunmen who cherished liberation and freedom and fought for it that the United States today was born." ”
In contrast, on May 27, after the shooting at Uvaldi Rob Elementary School in Texas, senator Cruz of the state fled in the face of questions from reporters.
Reporter: Is it time to reform The Gun Law in the United States?
Senator Cruz, Republican of Texas: It's a very easy issue to get political.
Reporter: But this is an important issue, and it is the core of the problem.
CRUZ: I understand that this is the strategy of your media.
Reporter: No, it's not, a lot of people think so.
CRUZ: When violent neurotics kill people, democrats are definitely going to make a big fuss in the media.
Reporter: Neuropathy can easily get a gun, and an 18-year-old can get two AR15 assault rifles.
CRUZ: If you want to stop gun violence, all the Proposals by democrats can't stop gun violence.
Reporter: So why is it that only the United States has this problem? I think this is the question that people all over the world want to ask, why is there constant gun violence in the United States? Why did the United States become this terrible exception?
Cruz: I'm sorry you think the U.S. is a bad exception.
Reporter: I'm talking about things.
Cruz: I know you have political agendas.
Reporter: No, I'm asking a question sincerely.
Cruz: May the Lord bless you.
According to the U.S. Gun Violence Archives website, the number of mass shootings in the United States has shown an overall upward trend over the past 18 years. In 2021, the number of mass shootings in the United States reached 692, a record high. In CNN's view, the number of cases in 2022 is likely to exceed that number.
As of July 4, more than 20,000 people had died under gunfire in the United States alone.
A heavy sentence of serious "regression": the United States overturned New York State's centennial gun control act
Recently, the US Supreme Court's overturning of the constitutional precedent on abortion rights has aroused heated discussions throughout the United States and even around the world. The day before the decision, the U.S. Supreme Court made another serious "backwards" decision, which overturned a century-old gun control act in New York State.
The Capitol Hill newspaper can't help but sigh helplessly that we not only have a Congress that is close to "incapacitated", but also a federal Supreme Court that teaches everyone to go wherever they want with a gun.
On June 23, local time, in the case of the New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Brun, the U.S. Supreme Court voted 6:3 to overturn the 109-year-old Sullivan Act in New York State. The law states that people who want to obtain the right to conceal the right to hold a gun in a public place must have "sufficient and appropriate reasons".
The six justices who supported overturning the bill were all conservative justices nominated by the Republican president. In his ruling, Justice Clarence Thomas, who practiced strict "originalism" in the Constitution, wrote in his ruling that "the right of the individual to carry a pistol outside the home shall be constitutionally protected in accordance with the Second Amendment to the Constitution, which states that the right of the people to possess and bear arms shall not be deprived'. As early as 2015, in a case brought to the Supreme Court involving a ban on the sale of assault rifles, Thomas described offensive weapons such as the AR15 as "the sporting rifle of modern society."
New Yorkers: [The Concealed Gun Act was overturned] It's a big step backwards, and the law we've had for more than 100 years has been trampled on, which is simply outrageous.
In response, John Miller, deputy chief of the NYPD, worried that the overthrow of the Concealed Gun Law will lead to a surge in the number of gun owners in New York City, and more weapons may appear in subways, churches, bars, airports and any place where people gather. Suicide rates and accidental shootings of children will also increase. The Imperial State is afraid to become the "Wild East."
California Attorney General Bunta: It's a dark day, it's a sad day, it's a step backwards in public safety. I am disappointed that today's decision [of the Supreme Court] undermines public safety across the country, but not surprisingly.
The ABC noted that the explosive ruling would force changes to similar gun control regulations in at least eight states across the country, which is expected to affect about 80 million Americans.
A week after the Covert Gun Act was overturned, a 20-year-old woman strolling through the streets of New York's East Side with her three-month-old baby on June 29 was shot in the head from behind by a strange man who shot her from behind and then fled the scene, after being pronounced dead after being taken to the hospital.
On Independence Day on July 4, more than 1 million people signed a petition on the website of civil rights group MoveOn calling for the impeachment of conservative Justice Clarence Thomas of the Supreme Court, according to the Capitol Hill.
African-American men were shot and killed indiscriminately by police, which brought shame on The United States' "Independence Day."
From the first day of the long Independence Day holiday, people in Akron began to hold demonstrations in front of police stations and courts.
It all started with another shooting on June 27. In the early hours of the same day, 25-year-old African-American male Geerland Waalk was stopped by police on suspicion of violating traffic rules.
Police released enforcement video showing multiple officers pulling out pistols as soon as Valk got out of the car. Police first used stun guns on Valk, but failed to hit Himk. During the chase, 8 police officers fired more than 90 rounds, 60 of which hit Valk. At present, the police have confirmed that At the time of escape, Valk was not carrying any weapons, and Valk did not have any criminal record earlier, and his profession was a delivery man.
According to law enforcement records released by the police, Valk was intercepted because the lights on his car's license plate were not lit and one of the taillights was unusually colored.
Akron Police Chief Milett said at a July 3 news conference that the night was dim and that police officers shot in self-defense while chasing Valk.
Akron Police Chief Milett: In this photo, all of us (the police) think that Mr. Valck's hand is reaching for his waist.
Valk's family lawyer noted that police continued to shoot after Valk fell face down to the ground. Forensic findings revealed that Valcke had died of multiple fatal gunshot wounds to the head and abdomen.
Varque's family lawyer, Diesel: They [the police] wanted to portray him as a masked monster with a gun, and everyone knew that. When he (Valcke) was unbelievably shot 90 or 60 shots, he (Valcke) had no weapon in his hands.
Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, said indignantly in a statement, "Valck's death was a 'murder.'" This kind of thing doesn't happen to white Americans. ”
Mike Lawlor, an associate professor of criminal justice at the University of New Haven, noted: "The lives of police officers are not felt threatened from the video. If the police believe their safety is at stake, they will not use stun guns in the first place. The incident seems like a classic case of unnecessary hunting and unnecessary use of lethal weapons. ”
Sundiata, an African-American history professor at the University of Illinois, wrote in the Press Release, "July 4 is not my 'Independence Day.'" There is still a huge gap between blacks and whites. ”
On the eve of Independence Day, only 38 percent of respondents felt "extremely proud" of being American, according to Gallup's latest poll, the lowest rate recorded by Gallup since the survey began in 2001.
US President Joe Biden: We're feeling the country going backwards, freedoms are being squeezed, and the rights that should have been protected are gone.
Global Economic Instability Various social crises have erupted in a concentrated manner
At the same time, as the uncertainty of the global economy intensifies, extremism, racism and various other social crises are also concentrated in some developed countries.
On June 25, a shooting at a nightclub in the Norwegian capital, Oslo, killed two people and injured 21 others. The suspect is a 42-year-old Norwegian of Iranian descent. On July 4, Denmark's first copenhagen shopping mall was shot, killing three people and injuring many others. Police then arrested a 22-year-old male suspect. This was seen as another "Nordic lone wolf" attack after the 2011 shooting on The Island of Ute.
The Los Angeles Times once lamented, "On this Year's Independence Day, I can't be proud to be an American."
A series of shootings in Western countries have formed a "spiral of terror." It's dizzying, and it's so deeply trapped that you can't extricate yourself.
Canada's "Globe and Mail" pointed out that "Independence Day" and the so-called "freedom and democracy" flaunted by the United States have been hit hard. The change is "shocking.".
Today's repeated tragic events are becoming increasingly unacceptable.