A shooting took place at a residence in Texas in which five people, including an 8-year-old child, were killed. The suspect, a 38-year-old man, fled the scene and is currently at large. The victims were shot in the head, as if they had been executed, according to the police. The suspect is a neighbor of the victims, and the shooting occurred after one of the victims asked him to stop shooting in his backyard because they were trying to put a child to sleep.
The police received a call reporting gunfire around 11:30 p.m. local time, and when they arrived, they found four people dead at the scene, and the 8-year-old child was pronounced dead at a local hospital. Three women and one man were among the deceased. Three injured people were taken to the hospital, and two were treated on-site and released.
The suspect used an AR-15 assault-style rifle, according to the police. Although there has been a dramatic increase in gun-related deaths in the US, including mass shootings in temples, supermarkets, and even schools, neither the Capitol nor the White House have agreed to limit the purchase and possession of guns. The Gun Violence Archive reported that there were 647 mass shootings with more than four fatalities in 2022, up from 383 in 2016.
The acquisition of assault weapons was restricted in the US from 1994 to 2004, but the ban expired when President George W. Bush allowed it to expire. The tragic incident in Texas is just one of many examples of gun violence in the US that continue to occur at an alarming rate, with over 5,800 gun-related deaths so far this year, excluding suicides.