President Obama addressed last night’s Charleston, South Carolina church shooting before the media today: “I don’t need to be constrained about the emotions tragedies like this raise. I’ve had to make comments like this too many times. Communities like this have had to endure tragedies like this too many times. We don’t have all the facts, but we do know that, once again, innocent people were killed in part because someone who wanted to inflict harm had no trouble getting their hands on a gun.” . . .
Keeping the focus on guns, he continued:
Now is the time for mourning and healing, but let’s be clear: At some point, we as a country, will have to reckon with the fact that this type of mass violence does not happen in other advanced countries.
The victims of the Charlie Hebdo/kosher market shootings were not available for comment.
It doesn’t happen in other places with this kind of frequency. It is in our power to do something about it… I say that recognizing the politics in this town foreclose a lot of those avenues right now.
Mass shootings don’t happen in other civilized countries, Mr. President? Really? TTAG commentator Tomahawk provided this partial list in a previous post . . .
Zug, Switzerland, Sept. 27, 2001: A man whose lawsuits had been denied murdered 14 members of a cantonal parliament.
Tours, France, Oct. 29, 2001: Four people were killed and ten wounded when a French railway worker started shooting at a busy intersection.
Nanterre, France, March 27, 2002: A man killed eight city-council members after a council meeting.
Erfurt, Germany, April 26, 2002: A former student killed 18 at a secondary school.
Freising, Germany, Feb. 19, 2002: Three people killed and one wounded.
Turin, Italy, Oct. 15, 2002: Seven people killed on a hillside overlooking the city.
Madrid, Spain, Oct. 1, 2006: A man killed two employees and wounded another at a company that had fired him.
Emsdetten, Germany, Nov. 20, 2006: A former student murdered eleven people at a high school.
Tuusula, Finland, Nov. 7, 2007: Seven students and the principal killed at a high school.
Naples, Italy, Sept. 18, 2008: Seven dead and two seriously wounded in a public meeting hall.
Kauhajoki, Finland, Sept. 23, 2008: Ten people shot to death at a college.
Winnenden, Germany, March 11, 2009: A 17-year-old former student killed 15 people, including nine students and three teachers.
Lyon, France, March 19, 2009: Ten people injured when a man opened fire on a nursery school.
Athens, Greece, April 10, 2009: Three people killed and two injured by a student at a vocational college.
Rotterdam, Netherlands, April 11, 2009: Three people killed and one injured at a crowded café.
Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2009: One dead and 15 wounded in an attack on a Sikh temple.
Espoo, Finland, Dec. 31, 2009: Four people shot to death at a mall.
Cumbria, England, June 2, 2010: Twelve killed by a British taxi driver.
Utøya, Norway, July 22, 2011: Anders Breivik uses a car bomb, then shoots and kills 67.