Weapons of Mass Destruction: 21 Minutes, 29 Dead
In a matter of minutes, gunmen wielding assault-style rifles slaughter 29 people and wound at least 50.
Dave Jenkins / U.K. Ministry of Defence
It took a total of only 21 minutes for 29 people to lose their lives and at least 50 more to be wounded, many of them critically, in two mass shootings Saturday and early Sunday.
Gunmen in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio, used AK-47-style assault rifles to shoot down their victims.
In Dayton, Connor Betts, 24, killed his nine victims and injured 27 in less than a minute, according to the Dayton Daily News. “The shooter … was neutralized within a minute of the first shots being fired,” Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley said at a news conference.
In El Paso, the first 911 call was placed at 10:39 a.m. and emergency responders were on the scene at 10:45 a.m., according to ABC News. The Washington Examiner reports, “Although police would not comment on a timeline of events, the gunman reportedly began opening fire in the parking lot before walking into Walmart. Witnesses have told multiple news outlets that gunfire could be heard for up to 20 minutes.” Alleged shooter Patrick Crusius, 21, is in custody
As of Aug. 4, there had been 253 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2019, according to the Gun Violence Archive. Two hundred and seventy-two people lost their lives—67 in the last month alone. Another 1,046 have been wounded in mass shootings this year.
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