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Last Wednesday, state judge Elizabeth Scherer sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Nicholas Cruzthe author of the shooting in a school of ParklandFlorida, which left 17 dead in February 2018.
READ ALSO: US jury seeks life in prison for Parkland school shooting spree
Cruz, who last year pleaded guilty to all 34 charges against him – including those accused of causing serious injuries to 17 victims – escaped the death penalty a month ago after 3 of the 12 jurors in charge to decide said sentence, he will allege that he suffers from mental problems.
Although at the time that Cruz’s life was spared it provoked a wave of criticism from several relatives of the victims, this sentence has allowed closing a painful chapter that shook American society.
However, the massacre perpetrated by Cruz is just one of many that have been committed in schools, shopping malls and American streets in recent years.
According to the organization Sandy Hook Promise, there have been at least 2,032 school shootings in the United States since 1970.
Gun Violence Archive, a website dedicated to monitoring armed violence in that country, for its part, has reported 580 mass shootings so far in 2022.
But what has happened to those responsible behind the deadliest shootings in the United States in recent years?
Robb Elementary School, Texas (2022)
On May 24, 2022, Salvador Ramos (18 years old) shot and wounded his grandmother before heading to Robb Elementary School, in Uvalde, carrying an AR-15 rifle and unleashing a massacre.
In total, Ramos spent an hour inside the school killing 22 people and injuring 18 others before a Border Patrol Tactical Unit was able to stop him.
Ramos was shot at the scene by police forces. The tragedy, however, provoked a series of criticisms for the reaction of the authorities, which increased after recordings were known in which the indecision of the agents was evidenced, which allowed Ramos to claim more victims.
El Paso, Texas (2019)
On August 3, 2019, Patrick Wood Crusius, a 21-year-old American at the time, drove for 10 hours from his hometown of Allen to El Paso and entered a store belonging to the well-known Walmart supermarket chain armed with a WASR-10 assault rifle.
About half an hour before shooting began, Crusius posted a manifesto on the 8chan website titled “The Inconvenient Truth,” calling the migration a “Hispanic invasion of Texas.”
The attacker’s arguments are similar to the so-called “great replacement” theory advocated by white supremacist and neo-Nazi groups.
Crusius’ attack left 23 dead, most of them Latino. In his publication he had assured that he “hoped to kill the largest number of Hispanics, because immigrants should be invited to leave the country.”
Crusius was detained by the police after the massacre, offered no resistance and identified himself as the perpetrator of the attack.
Crusius currently faces 90 federal charges. He is being held in an El Paso jail awaiting his trial, which was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Last Wednesday, District Attorney Jaime Esparza assured that they will seek that Crusius be sentenced to death for his crimes.
Sutherland Springs, Texas (2017)
On November 5, 2017, former soldier Devin Patrick Kelley (26) arrived at the First Baptist Church in the small town of Sutherland Springs, with just 500 inhabitants, armed with a Ruger AR-556 rifle and wearing a bulletproof vest.
Being noon on a Sunday, the temple was celebrating a liturgy when Kelley began shooting at those present. In total, it caused the death of 26 people and left another 20 people injured.
A neighbor of the temple managed to shoot Kelley while fleeing the scene and began to chase him in his truck. The attacker, however, was found shot in the head after a police chase.
Las Vegas, Nevada (2017)
On the night of October 1, 2017, the Route 91 Harvest country music festival was held in the city of Las Vegas.
As singer Jason Aldean performed on stage, a series of gunshots rang out, sparking chaos in the crowd.
360 meters from the place where the festival was held is the Mandalay Bay hotel. On the 32nd floor of the building, leaning out of two windows, was Stephen Craig Paddock, a 64-year-old accountant.
Paddock had broken the windows of his room and installed two semi-automatic rifles, with which he fired for 10 minutes into the crowd.
When the police arrived at the room they found Paddock dead, having committed suicide by shooting himself. The shooting that unleashed caused the death of 58 people and left another 851 injured.
The Paddock attack is considered the worst massacre in the United States since the attacks of September 11, 2001. The Islamic State terrorist group claimed that Paddock had joined its ranks shortly before and claimed responsibility for the attack, but the FBI said it had not found indications that the man has been radicalized.
Pulse Nightclub, Orlando (2016)
On June 12, 2016, the Latin night at the Pulse club turned into a real nightmare.
Omar Mir Seddique, a 29-year-old New Yorker of Afghan descent, arrived at the nightclub frequented by the LGBT community around 2 a.m. carrying a SIG Sauer MCX rifle and a Glock 17 pistol.
The man, who was later discovered to have become radicalized and joined the ranks of the Islamic State terrorist group, began shooting at local attendees, leaving 49 dead and 53 wounded.
Before the police arrived, Seddique took refuge inside the premises and took 30 people as hostages. Three hours later, a SWAT team managed to enter the facility and killed the terrorist after a gunfight.
San Bernardino, Calif. (2015)
An event held at the San Bernardino County Inland Regional Center on December 2, 2015 was the starting point of a deadly journey.
At 11 a.m., two shooters arrived at the scene and began shooting at the nearly 100 attendees. The arrival of the police caused the aggressors to flee, losing sight of them for about 4 hours until an intense persecution began.
The suspect vehicle responded with shots to police warnings and less than a minute later the two people on board were killed. Authorities identified the occupants as Syed Farook (28) and Tashfeen Malik (27).
Both the initial attack and the shots fired during the pursuit left 14 dead and 24 wounded. According to the FBI, Farook and Malik had been radicalized for some time.
Sandy Hook School, Conn. (2012)
On December 14, 2012, one of the most emblematic tragedies of violence in American schools occurred.
On the morning of that day, Adam Lanza (20) murdered his mother, Nancy, before heading to Sandy Hook Elementary School in the town of Newton.
Already at school, Lanza – who had been armed with two pistols and an automatic rifle – began to walk the corridors and classrooms, shooting at those who crossed his path.
Lanza’s attack lasted for about 40 minutes, causing 26 deaths, 18 of the victims were children.
The police arrived at the premises, but before reaching Lanza the attacker committed suicide with a shot to the head.
The Sandy Hook shooting is considered the deadliest school shooting in US history.
Virginia Tech University (2007)
On April 16, 2007, the worst attack on a university in the history of the United States was recorded.
The tragedy took place at Virginia State University, known as Virginia Tech. The perpetrator was identified as Seung-Hui Cho, a 23-year-old South Korean.
Cho, who grew up in Virginia and later moved to the college campus, spent several months planning the attack, according to subsequent FBI investigations.
At 7:15 am on April 16, a shot was heard in the university dormitories. Two hours later, Cho chained the doors to a classroom corridor and began shooting at students.
The assailant, armed with two pistols, killed 32 people and injured 29 others before committing suicide when surrounded by police.
Source: Elcomercio
I, Ronald Payne, am a journalist and author who dedicated his life to telling the stories that need to be said. I have over 7 years of experience as a reporter and editor, covering everything from politics to business to crime.
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