Page 6 - ARUBA TODAY

A6 U.S. NEWS
Thursday 1 augusT 2019
U.S. records nearly 20 mass killings for the year so far

By MARTHA BELLISLE and wounded. That shooting is
MEGHAN HOYER not included in the AP da-
Associated Press tabase.
SEATTLE (AP) — The U.S. has Seven months into 2019,
recorded nearly 20 mass there have been 19 mass
killings so far this year, the killings in the U.S., and all
majority of them domes- but three of them were car-
tic violence attacks that ried out with guns.
receive scant national at- The deadliest attack oc-
tention compared to high- curred May 31 at a gov-
profile public shootings in ernment office in Virginia
recent years at schools, Beach, where a 40-year-
churches and concerts. old city employee walked
A database compiled through his office building
by The Associated Press, with two .45-caliber pistols,
Northeastern University and killing 12 people before be-
USA Today shows that the ing fatally shot by police.
number of mass killings has Many other shootings oc-
held steady in 2019 com- curred under the radar.
pared with past years. But A 26-year-old man went on
if the trend continues, the a shooting spree in South-
year could end with a low- ern California last week,
er death count because In this June 2, 2019, file photo, a volunteer prepares to place crosses for victims of a mass shooting killing his father, brother, a
there have been fewer at a municipal building in Virginia Beach, Va., at a nearby makeshift memorial. former girlfriend and a man
mass-casualty attacks such Associated Press at a gas station.
as those in Las Vegas, Park- A man in Port Angeles,
land, Florida, and the Pulse or drugs in Missouri, Wiscon- members, so it doesn't get said Adam Winkler, a law Washington, was charged
Nightclub in Orlando. sin and Washington state, the same attention be- professor at the University with murder and arson af-
Four mass shootings hap- but those stories drew little cause people don't feel at of California, Los Angeles. ter killing his wife and three
pened in public places so attention. Meanwhile, a risk." While the FBI defines a children ages 9, 6 and 5 on
far this year, compared gunman killed three peo- The database examines mass shooting as four or July 6. He then set fire to
with 10 in 2018 and seven ple and wounded 12 at a every mass killing dating more dead, others use a their home.
in 2017. But 2019 saw a big garlic festival in California, back to 2006 and tracks standard of three dead, And federal prosecutors
increase in the number of with smartphones and so- a number of variables for and some count injuries, he say four suspects are re-
mass killings in domestic dis- cial media quickly spread- each. It counts killings in- said. sponsible for the shooting
putes, helping to keep this ing the word. volving four or more fatali- "It's hard to imagine that deaths of five people near
year's overall numbers simi- "There were more people ties, not including the killer, you can shoot 12 people Yakima, Washington.
lar to past years.There have killed in Wisconsin than in the same standard used by but it's not considered a Seventy-seven people
been 10 family mass killings California," said Northeast- the FBI. mass shooting," Winkler have died this year in mass
this year; there were 10 dur- ern University professor Part of the problem with said, referring to the attack shootings that include
ing all of 2017. James Alan Fox, referring to determining whether there Sunday at the Gilroy Gar- family violence and other
In July alone, 13 people five family members killed are trends in mass shootings lic Festival that left three events, while 26 people
were slain in three killings in- Sunday in Wisconsin. "Three is "everyone has a different dead, not including the were killed in mass shoot-
volving domestic violence of the four were family way of counting the data," shooter, and 12 people ings in public places, the

U.S. fighter jet crashes in

Death Valley, injures 7 visitors

working at his family's Pan- ley. ular with photographers
amint Springs Resort about "The status of the pilot is un- and aviation buffs who
10 miles (16 kilometers) known at this time," Bock gawk at jets flying training
away and was the first to said about four hours after missions in the steep, nar-
report the crash to park dis- the crash. row canyon.
patch. A military helicopter U.S. and foreign militaries
"I just saw a black mush- searched for the pilot. train pilots and test jets in
room cloud go up," Cassell Ambulances were sent to the gorge officially called
This July 17, 2019, photo provided by the U.S. Air Force shows
a Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet in flight after refueling over the told The Associated Press. the crash site near Father Rainbow Canyon near the
Pacific Ocean near the coast of Brisbane, Australia. "Typically you don't see Crowley Overlook, but park's western entrance.
Associated Press a mushroom cloud in the it wasn't clear if anyone Training flights are almost
desert." was transported for further a daily feature with jets
By BRIAN MELLEY aviation enthusiasts rou- A search was underway for medical treatment, said screaming below the rim of
Associated Press tinely watch military pilots the pilot of the single-seat park spokesman Patrick the canyon and passing so
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A U.S. speeding low through a F/A-18 Super Hornet that Taylor. He said initial reports close viewers can see the
Navy fighter jet crashed chasm dubbed Star Wars was on a routine training were that seven park visi- pilots' facial expressions.
Wednesday in Death Val- Canyon, officials said. mission, said Lt. Cmdr. Lyd- tors had minor injuries. Cassell said he heard jets
ley National Park, injuring The crash sent dark smoke ia Bock, spokeswoman for The lookout point about roaring through the area
seven people who were at billowing in the air, said Naval Air Station Lemoore 160 miles (257 kilometers) and then saw the cloud of
a scenic overlook where Aaron Cassell, who was in California's Central Val- north of Los Angeles is pop- smoke.q