Stories about fireworks accidents are often in the news a lot the morning after the 4th of July.
But in the major headlines today are stories about mass shootings and some things you may not know about them.
Did you know that the mass shootings that happened in Philadelphia, Fort Worth Texas and Baltimore are not uncommon around the 4th of July.
According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, which defines a shooting that kills or injures four or more not including the shooter, over nearly the last decade, there have been more than 50 mass shootings on July 4th, more than on any other calendar day. The second most frequent is July 5th.
Since 2014, only four calendar dates have seen mass shootings in the double digits in a single day and three of them over the three most recent 4th of July weekends, in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
So why so many of these mass shootings on or next to Independence Day? Experts point to it being a time for gatherings of lots of people and it’s during the summer, though there are holidays when there are lots of gatherings.
Maybe this past Independence Day can finally be a starting point for more serious talk and more serious action about how to prevent mass shootings from happening in our country, especially when we are celebrating its birth.