ITEM: A deranged gunman armed with a high-powered firearm attacked a throng of unsuspecting people yesterday, killing some, wounding others.
Sound familiar? It should.
It seems to happen about every two or three months in America:
- Omaha, Nebraska. December 2007. Nine are shot to death and five others injured after a disturbed 19-year-old shooter, armed with a military-style assault rifle, attacks shoppers in a Nebraska mall. It is the "worst single-day killing spree in Nebraska history."
- Moscow, Idaho. May 2007. A 36 year-old janitor belonging to the Aryan Nations shoots 200 rounds from two military-style semiautomatic weapons, killing his wife, a police officer and a church sexton, and wounding two other police officers and a college student, before killing himself. The shooter had been granted a concealed weapons permit, despite a domestic violence conviction and extensive criminal record.
- Blacksburg, Virginia. April 2007. In the worst mass shooting in American history, a dangerously mentally ill student shoots 47 people on Virginia Tech University's campus, killing 32, then commits suicide.
- Salt Lake City, Utah. February 2007. A teen opens fire inside the Trolley Square Mall, killing five, before being shot and killed by police.
- Chicago, Illinois. December 2006. A disgruntled client of attorney Michael McKenna forces his way into a busy downtown office building, where he barricades himself inside and shoot and kills McKenna and two other employees. The shooter was killed after a gunfight with the SWAT team.
- Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania. October 2006. A truck driver walks into a one-room Amish schoolhouse with two rifles, a semi-automatic handgun, and 600 rounds of ammunition, selects all the female students, and shoots them execution-style, killing five and seriously wounding six. The man then commits suicide, apparently having left suicide notes beforehand.
- Lakeland, Florida. September 2006. While attempting to flee after a traffic stop, a man shoots and kills one police officer, wounds another, and kills a police dog working with the slain officer. Students in a nearby high school are forced in lock-down mode.
- Bailey, Colorado. September 2006. A lone gunman holds six female students hostage at a high school. He then sexually assaults them, kills one of them, and after a four hour siege, kills himself.
- Hillsborough, North Carolina. August 2006. After shooting his father to death, a student opens fire at his high school, injuring two students. Deputies found guns, ammunition, and homemade pipe bombs in the student's car. The student had emailed Columbine High's Principal, telling him that it was "time the world remembered" the shootings at Columbine.
- Essex, Vermont. August 2006. A gunman shoots five people, killing two of them, in a rampage through two houses and an elementary school, before wounding himself.
- Seattle, Washington. July 2006. A man forces his way into the offices of the Jewish Federation of Greater Seattle by putting a gun at the back of a 13-year-old girl to gain entry to the building. The shooter carries two semi-automatic handguns and extra ammunition, shooting six and killing one.
- St. Louis, Missouri. April 2006. A man first kills the mother of his child, then goes to his workplace and shoots three others to death before committing suicide.
- Seattle, Washington. March 2006. Kyle Huff walks into a party and kills six people in the Capitol Hill neighborhood before killing himself. A 12-gauge Winchester pump shotgun with a pistol-grip and a .40-caliber semiautomatic Ruger handgun are used in the shootings.
- Bellefontaine, Ohio. May 2005. Scott Moody kills his grandparents, his mother, his two friends, and severely wounds his sister when he goes on a shooting rampage through two homes before shooting himself.
- Red Lake Indian Reservation, Minnesota. March 2005. Former high school student kills ten and injures seven in a shooting rampage. It is the worst school-related shooting incident since the Columbine shootings in April of 1999.
- Brookfield, Wisconsin. March 2005. A madman fires 22 rounds during a church service. Seven are killed, including minister and his son, and four others are wounded.
- Tyler, Texas. February 2005. A gunman - wearing a bulletproof vest and a military flak jacket - shoots over 50 rounds with an AK-47 killing his wife and a bystander. The shooter's son and three law enforcement officers are wounded in the gun battle.
- Columbus, Ohio. December 2004. Man walks onstage and shoots and kills four concertgoers before being killed in shootout with police.
- Birchwood, Wisconsin. November 2004. A hunter opens fire with an SKS assault rifle, killing six other hunters and wounding two after a confrontation over a tree stand.
- Kansas City, Kansas. July 2004. Six people die and two others are wounded when a gunman opens fire at a ConAgra plant and then shoots himself.
- Birmingham, Alabama. June 2004. Three police officers are shot to death as they attempt to carry out an arrest warrant.
- Randallstown, Maryland. May 2004. Four teenagers are injured, one critically, by a drive-by shooter as they leave a charity basketball game at their high school.
- Cold Spring, Minnesota. September 2003. A 15-year-old student opens fire at Rocori High School, killing two students.
- Chicago, Illinois. August 2003. A fired worker shoots and kills six of his former co-workers with a .38 caliber semi-automatic pistol. The shooter had previously been arrested a dozen times on various charges including weapons offenses and assault.
- Andover, Ohio. August 2003. An angry employee, denied vacation because of a paperwork mix-up, shoots and kills a co-worker, wounding two others before killing himself. The shooter was armed with four handguns and had spent much of his spare time shooting at targets behind his home.
- San Antonio, Texas. July 2003. A man walks into the real estate office where he had worked and opens fire. He fatally shoots two co-workers before killing himself during a chase with police.
- Meridian, Mississippi. July 2003. A retired Lockheed Martin employee enters the plant where he had worked and opens fire with a 12-gauge shotgun and a .223 caliber semi-automatic rifle. He kills five and injures nine before killing himself.
- New Orleans, Louisiana. April 2003. Four boys aged 15-19 open fire in a high school gym with an AK-47 killing one student and injuring three others.
- Huntsville, Alabama. February 2003. Four people are killed and another injured when a gunman opens fire at a temporary employment agency. The gunman had been angry over a dispute over CDs, a CD player and $20.
- Edinburg, Texas. January 2003. Four men armed with assault weapons shoot six people to death in their homes.
- Fall 2002. John Allen Muhammad and John Lee Malvo randomly selected victims in sniper-style shootings - one acting as a long-range shooter from the trunk of their car. Muhammad and Malvo have been linked to 20 shootings, including 13 killings, in Virginia, Maryland, Georgia, Arizona, Alabama, Louisiana, and Washington, D.C., many of which were carried out with a Bushmaster XM-15 semi-automatic assault rifle.
(Note to readers: This entry, along with past entries, has been co-posted on bradycampaign.org/blog and the Huffington Post.)