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US gun attack becoming deadlier as 12 years old girl “unintentionally” shoots five

A 12-year-old girl at a Californian school has been charged with “negligent discharge of a firearm” after she “unintentionally” fired a gun leaving five persons injured.

A 15-year-old boy, who was shot in the head, and a 15-year-old girl, who was shot in the wrist, are both in a stable condition and are expected to make full recovery.

Also, an 11-year-old boy, 12-year-old girl, and a 30-year-old woman sustained minor injuries from indirect shots.

The incident occurred at 08:55 local time at Salvador Castro Middle School in the Westlake district with a semi-automatic handgun recovered at the scene.

A student who was in the classroom said he believed the girl thought the weapon was a toy gun and “didn’t mean to” shoot anyone.

There were over 2,000 “unintentional shootings” in the country in 2017. This incident is the 166th accidental shooting this year and one of at least the third shooting incidents at US schools in recent weeks.

On the 23rd of January, a student in Kentucky opened fire on fellow students, shooting 17 and killing two.

A day earlier, a 16-year-old student was apprehended after wounding a student at a Texas school.

Is arming teachers a way out?

Most recently, the Michigan State Senate passed a bill in November which would allow teachers at primary, middle and high schools carry a concealed handgun in class. Similar bills have been filed in Florida, Indiana, Pennsylvania, Mississippi, South Carolina and West Virginia.

If passed, those States would join at least nine that already allow some form of concealed arm carrying in high schools, as each fatal school shooting reignites a long-running debate over whether the solution is more gun control or more guns.

Efforts to arm teachers and school staff were rekindled in the wake of the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut, where 20 children and six teachers died. Facing a public outcry at the massacre, and renewed calls for gun control, the NRA pushed heavily in the opposite direction.

“The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun,” said the NRA’s Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre, a week after the shooting.

In a 2013 poll by the National Education Association, only 22% of teachers said they approved of the idea of arming staff, while 68% of teachers opposed such moves. In another survey the same year, 72% of teachers said they would not want to carry a gun even if the law allowed.

The US in comparison to other nations

In 2014, a total of 51,863 incidences involving gun violence was recorded as against 61,460 cases recorded in 2017.

According to a 2017 survey about 40% of Americans say they own a gun or live in a household with one, and the rate of murder or manslaughter by firearm is highest in the developed world. There were more than 11,000 deaths as a result of murder or manslaughter involving a firearm in 2016.

Who has more guns per person in the world?

Though it is difficult to know exactly how many guns civilians own around the world, by every estimate, the US, with around 270 million, is far out in front.

Switzerland and Finland are European countries with the most guns per person both having compulsory military service for all men over the age of 18. Cyprus, Austria, and Yemen also have military service.

What amounts to mass shooting?

There have been more than 90 mass shootings in the US since 1982, according to investigative magazine, Mother Jones.

Up until 2012, a mass shooting was defined as when an attacker had killed four or more victims in an indiscriminate rampage – and since 2013, the figures include attacks with three or more victims. The shootings do not include killings related to other crimes such as armed robbery or gang violence.

The age bracket of shooters

The average age of attackers in 91 recorded US mass shootings is 34 years.

Stephen Paddock, the gunman who killed 58 concertgoers in Las Vegas, is one of three killers aged over 60. The others are William D Baker, 66, who killed five people in Illinois in 2001; and Kurt Myers, 64, who killed five people in New York State in 2013.

The youngest killer is Andrew Douglas Golden, 11, who ambushed students and teachers as they left Westside Middle School in Arkansas, 1998. He was jointly responsible with Mitchell Scott Johnson, 13, for five deaths and 10 injured.

The Las Vegas attack was the worst in recent US history – and the three shootings with the highest number of casualties have all happened within the past 10 years.

What types of guns are mostly used?

Military-style assault weapons have been blamed for some major mass shootings like the attack in an Orlando nightclub and at the Sandy Hook School in Connecticut. The Police said dozens of rifles had been recovered from the scene of the Las Vegas shooting.

A few US states have banned assault weapons, which were totally restricted for a decade until 2004. However, most murders caused by guns involve handguns, according to FBI data.

How much does a gun cost?

While it may be difficult to own a gun in countries where guns are not widely owned, it can be a surprise to discover that they are relatively cheap to purchase in the US.

Handguns, reportedly among Paddock’s arsenal found in his hotel room, can cost from as little as $200, as much as a Chrome-book laptop and can be bought from gun shops.

Assault rifles like the ones also reportedly found in Paddock’s room can cost up to $1500.

Given that 23 weapons were found at the hotel and additional 19 at his home, Paddock may have spent more than $70,000 on weapons and accessories, such as tripods, scopes, ammunition, and cartridges.

How about gun control?

A significant majority oppose a ban on handguns. However, some controls are widely supported by people across the political divide; such as restricting the sale of guns to people who are mentally ill, or on “watch” lists.

There seems to be more division over other policy proposals such as whether to allow ordinary citizens increased rights to carry concealed weapons according to a survey from Pew Research Centre.

In his latest comment on the shootings, President Donald Trump said he would be “talking about gun laws as times goes by”. The White House said now is not the time to be debating gun control.

Former President, Barack Obama, struggled to get any new gun control laws into the statute books, due to opposition from the Republican opposition.

In terms of lobbying, the National Rifle Association (NRA) officially spends about $3m yearly to influence gun policy.

The NRA also spends millions supporting election campaigns of political candidates who oppose gun controls.

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