NEW YORK, Oct. 2 -- People across the United States reacted with shock and sorrow on Monday to what was believed to be the worst mass shooting in U.S. history.
At least 59 people were killed and over 500 others wounded after a gunman opened fire on an open air concert Sunday night outside the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas in the U.S. state of Nevada.
The shooting massacre, only 16 months after the deadly mass shooting in the U.S. city of Orlando that killed 49 people, once again brought about furious debate on gun control in the country.
SHOCK AND SORROW
"The shooting was very horrible. It was a big massacre. I was very heartbroken last night when I saw it," New York resident Muhammad, 30, told Xinhua.
Event planner Lenny, 51, was distressed by the fact that innocent people got killed for no reason. "I just don't know what triggered this man to do something like this," he said in New York.
Investigators have identified the shooter as Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old white man, and did not find any immediate links to terrorism. The motive of the suspect was still unclear.
Information released by authorities so far can barely piece together a clear picture of Paddock.
The shooter was a resident of Mesquite, a town of about 18,000 people on the Nevada-Arizona state line; he'd been staying in the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino since last Thursday; police had nothing more than a routine traffic violation on him.
In Chicago, Bill Weber, a 25-year-old IT consultant, said, "It is just down right tragedy. You have no other reaction besides immediate horror, shock and all."
The gunman rained bullets from a high-floor hotel room of the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip when more than 22,000 people were attending the outdoor music festival, the police said.
There are more than 10 rifles in the room where Paddock killed himself, authorities said.
"I was curious about the personality produced by this country that allow someone to bring that amount of weaponry to one place and not being detected. And then clandestinely and evilly, wickedly sit up in a window, and shoot people who can't defend themselves," H.A. Brown III, 65, told Xinhua in Chicago.
Speaking at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday called the shooting an "act of pure evil," ordered flags flown at half-staff, adding that he will visit the city on Wednesday.
GUN CONTROL
"The shooting is evidence that we have too many guns in this country, too little regulation of them, and it is time for us to do something about it," New Yorker Milly, 69, told Xinhua.
The manufacture for civilian use of certain semi-automatic firearms was banned in 1994. However, when the ban expired in 2004, the U.S. Congress refused to renew the ban.
In the state of Nevada where Las Vegas is located, gun laws are known to be some of the most lenient in the country.
Nevada law does not require firearms owners to have licenses, register their weapons, or limit the number of firearms an individual possess. Automatic assault weapons and machine guns are also legal in the state as long as they are registered and are possessed in adherence to federal law, according to the National Rifle Association (NRA).
Tax attorney Brain, 57, worried that NRA, as a huge lobbying group, has gained too much power.
"Unfortunately the National Rifle Association has too much power. As a result, we have very relaxed gun control laws in this country. It is time we tackle this," said the New Yorker.
Vincent Smith, a 62-year-old retiree, said "I think we need stricter gun control now. I think people should stop taking money from the NRA. I understand the Second Amendment and right to bear arms, but we have to do something, this is going too far."
Robert Puricelli, in his 70s, said that "My first reaction was it was a terrible but not surprising event."
"The inaction of the U.S. government to enact any kind of fire arms control, magazine size control, automatic weapons control, make these kinds of incidents sort of inevitable. And people are getting kind of numb to them," said the retired security trader.
Some argue that banning guns won't solve the gun violence that has plagued the country.
According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, a total of 273 mass shooting incidents have occurred so far this year in the United States awash with more than 300 million guns.
There are more than 11,600 deaths linked to gun violence so far in 2017, which is roughly equivalent to nearly four 9/11 attacks in terms of the total number killed on Sept. 11, 2001.
"Tighter control on gun ownership may help but will not solve all social problems," Zhiqun Zhu, professor of Political Science and International Relations of Bucknell University.
The Guards of People 人民的守护者
2018年06月英语四级作文范文:电力短缺
Mom, I want to Say To You 妈妈,我想对你说
美国国会争分夺秒争取通过一万三千亿美元的开支议案
The Happiness I Have 我拥有的幸福
The Booming Movie Market in China 中国电影市场的蓬勃发展
Fancy the original or movie ones? 原著还是电影?
The Goal of University Education 大学教育的目标
Fairy Tale 童话
The Ways to Get Sleep Quickly 快速入睡的方法
国际英语资讯:Clashes with Israeli soldiers in eastern Gaza kill 3 Palestinians
司法部长塞申斯提出加强撞火枪托监管建议
World Forest Day 世界森林日
April Fools’ Day 愚人节
World Health Day 世界卫生日
国际英语资讯:Zimbabwean president urges officials to adopt new culture for economic growth
国际英语资讯:Moon, Kim pledge complete denuclearization, signing truce into peace pact by 2018
Be Happy About Helping Others 助人为乐
2018年06月英语四级作文范文:限制塑料袋的使用
Spring Festival 春节