Murders In America During 2012

With just a few days left in 2012 and the tragedy in Newtown, CT, the left has again been demanding gun control ranging from banning semi-automatics to complete and total ban of all guns. I thought it might be time to finish a research project I began earlier this year on mass murders.

I have found documentation of 30 mass shootings in the United States thus far this year. The complete list is at the end of this document but I thought it would be interesting to see where these occurred and how lenient or strict gun laws were. Gun laws are varied from very strict to very lenient.

The locations were varied. Six occurred in gun-free zones. Seven were attributed to mental illness. Gang related and arguments were behind five each. Domestic violence and revenge/witness slayings each accounted for four shootings. Psychotropic drugs were blamed for three while premeditated murder and domestic terrorism were responsible for one apiece. There were 19 states and 25 cities/towns (listed in alphabetical order):

1. Auburn                 AL
2. Tuscaloosa          AL
3. Gilbert                  AZ
4. Tempe                  AZ 
5. Oakland               CA
6. Aurora                  CO
7. Newtown             CT
8. Wilmington          DE
9. North Miami         FL
10. Norcross              GA
11. Chicago                IL      4 shootings
12. Minneapolis         MN
13. Omaha                  NE
14. Chardon               OH
15. Oklahoma City    OK
16. Portland                OR
17. Philadelphia        PA
18. Pittsburg               PA
19. Jackson               TN
20. Houston               TX     2 shootings
21. San Antonio        TX
22. Waller                  TX
23. Seattle                 WA    2 shootings
24. Brookfield            WI
25. Oak Creek           WI

1. US News MSNBC.com, January 12, 2012 Philadelphia, PA1/10/2012 Police late Wednesday arrested a man after three teenagers were shot dead in an ambush in Philadelphia, according to a report. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that another teenager was also wounded in the attack Tuesday night. (3 Teens shot dead in Philly ambush. Point blank range suggests it was a handgun.)
2.          Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 23, 2012Norcross, GA 2/21/2012 Norcross police on Thursday identified the gunman as the 59-year-old Paek, and the victims as Byong Ok Kang, 64; Kum Hi Song, 61; Kum Sook Kim, 57, and Tae Yol Kim, 55. Surveillance camera footage shows Paek walking into the business and talking to one of the victims before shots were fired, police said. Paek is accused of killing his two sisters and their husbands before turning the gun on himself. (Witness to Norcross mass shooting: ‘It was horrible’.)
3.          Fox News, February 26, 2012Jackson, TN Police said one person was killed and 20 others were injured early Sunday in a shooting at a Tennessee nightclub. An apparent dispute between several people at the Karma Lounge in Jackson led to at least three people opening fire, according to a press release from the Jackson Police Department. The club was hosting an after-party for a basketball game between Lane College and Lemoyne-Owen College. (Police: 1 killed, 20 injured in shooting at Tennessee nightclub.Three handguns were fired into the crowd.)
4.          Washington Post, March 1, 2012Chardon, OH T.J. Lane has told police that he took a .22 caliber Ruger pistol and a knife to the school on Monday and randomly fired 10 shots into a group of students sitting at a table, according to prosecutors. Daniel Parmertor, 16; Demetrius Hewlin, 16; and Russell King, 17 were killed. Nick Walczak, 17, remains in serious condition in a hospital with neck and back injuries, and another student has been released from the hospital. (Suspect in Ohio school shooting charged with murder.)
5.          New York Times, March 8, 2012 Tempe, AZ 3/3/2012 As hundreds of fans waited in line to see Hussle, fights and arguments broke out, police said. They also said some fans were drinking beer in the parking lot. Three men opened fire on rival gang members and fled, police said. All 14 of the people shot are expected to survive, including the two seriously wounded, Lt. Mike Horn said. (Tempe concert mass shooting: Rapper decries gun violence.)   
6. Tucson Citizen, March, 3, 2012 Pittsburgh, PA 3/8/2012 A gunman opened fire in the lobby of a psychiatric hospital in Pittsburgh on Thursday, killing one person and wounding seven, including a police officer, officials said. The gunman was also said to have died. (2 Die and 7 Are Wounded in a Shooting in Pittsburgh.
7. click2houston.com, March 21, 2012Waller, TX 03/20/2012 Trey Sesler massacred his mother, father, and brother in their home in Waller, Texas. Police found him the next day. A high-caliber rifle was used. It later emerged the killer was also planning a Columbine-style massacre at a local high school. (Man suspected of killing family captured.)
8. CBS Miami, March 31 2012North Miami, FL 03/30/2012 Fourteen people have been shot and two are dead outside a funeral home in South Florida. One of the victims, a 43-year-old man, died at the scene while the other, a 27-year-old man, died at the hospital. A 5-year-old girl was shot in the leg and hospitalized at Jackson Memorial Hospital along with eleven other victims. (“Grandma, I’ve Been Shot” Said Girl Hurt In Gang Related Mass Shooting.)
9. CBS San Francisco, April 2 2012Oakland, CA 04/02/2012 Seven people were killed and three others wounded in a shooting rampage Monday at an Asian religious vocational school in east Oakland; police later detained the suspected gunman. (7 Dead, 3 Wounded In Shooting At Oakland Religious School; Gunman In Custody.)
10. msnbc, May 2, 2012 Seattle, WA 05/30/2012 40-year-old Ian Stawicki entered a Seattle cafe on Wednesday and opened fire, killing four people. He then left Cafe Racer, killing another person during a carjacking before taking his own life. (Seattle Mass Shooting Latest by a Concealed Handgun Permit Holder
11. Chicago Tribune, May 23 2012 Oklahoma City, OK 5/21/2012 A 16-year-old boy is in custody and suspected of opening fire after an NBA game on Monday, injuring eight people. Three of the people shot were bystanders, while five had been involved in the group clashes, which revolved around “high school, girls-and-boys stuff”. (Police say 16- year-old shot eight outside NBA game
12. Atlantic Wire, May 29, 2012 Chicago, IL 26-29/05/2012 Last year Chicago saw four people slain during Memorial Day weekend. This year the city saw 40 shootings and 10 murders over the four-day weekend (Chicago’s Memorial Day Weekend Was Terrible
13. Huffingtonpost, June 1 2012) Gilbert, AZ 6/01/2012 Four people killed by a former neo-Nazi before he turned the gun on himself. The killer shot and killed his girlfriend and three others, including a toddler as a result of a domestic dispute. (Armored gunman, 4 people dead in Arizona shooting.)
14. Dothan Eagle, June 10 2012 Auburn, AL 06/09/2012 A 22 year old man opened fire at University Heights apartments off West Longleaf Drive. The shooting left three men dead, including two former Auburn University football players, and three others wounded. (Manhunt on for suspect in Auburn mass shooting.)
15. CBS 5 News Channel, June 20, 2012 Houston, TX 06/20/2012 Gunfire erupted outside a Houston night club, killing three people and wounding two others as hundreds of confused concert-goers hit the ground in panic, witnesses and police said. 3 people, including one woman investigators described as an innocent bystander, died. (3 dead, 2 wounded in Houston club shooting.)
16. MSNBC, June 26, 2012 Omaha, NE 06/26/2012 Gun violence put three men in the hospital, one of whom has serious injuries. One neighbor said she heard several shots, then went outside to find the victims hit in the hand, arm and leg. (3 injured in 61st Street shooting.)
17. Chicago Tribune, July 1, 2012 Chicago, IL One man was killed and a man and woman were injured in a shooting that occurred early Sunday in the East Garfield Park neighborhood, police said. A 22-year-old man was shot in the head and pronounced dead on the scene. (Cops: 1 dead, 2 injured in West Side shooting, Chicago Tribune.)
18. Sky Valley Chronicle, July 2 2012 Seattle, WA July 02, 2012 One killed, five injured at party. Gunfire erupted at a South Seattle home where a party was underway. Six people were hit with flying bullets as multiple shots were fired. One of the wounded, a 21-year old woman, later died. (MORE GUN VIOLENCE IN SEATTLE)
19. Chicago Tribune, July 6 2012Chicago, IL Three people were shot, a 19-year-old man was shot in the calf, a 34-year-old man was shot in the back and a 24-year-old man was shot in the thigh. The oldest was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in critical condition and the other two were taken to Roseland Hospital, Alfaro said. Someone approached the three on a bicycle and opened fire. (3 dead, 7 wounded in shootings across city.)
20. AP, July 9 2012 Wilmington, DE, At a weekend soccer tournament in Delaware three people died and two were wounded. The dead included the tournament organizer, a 16-year-old boy participating in the tournament and one of three suspects alleged to have initiated the deadly violence Sunday afternoon at a park near downtown Wilmington. (3 dead after gunfire at Del. soccer tournament.) 
21. CBS Chicago, July 11 2012 Chicago, IL Four youngsters are among the latest victims caught in Chicago’s gun violence epidemic, including two middle school-aged girls who were wounded in a neighborhood park on the Far South Side. (Gun Violence Leaves 4 More Chicago Youth Wounded.)
22. SFGate, July 17 2012 Tuscaloosa, AL, A gunman stood outside of a crowded downtown bar and opened fire from two different positions early Tuesday, sending patrons running or crawling for cover. At least 17 people were hurt. Nathan Van Wilkins, 44, surrendered about 10 hours after the shooting near the University of Alabama campus, police said. Authorities believe one of the bar patrons was a target of the rampage and that it was connected to an earlier shooting at a home. (Alabama shooting suspect surrenders.)
23. ABC, July 20, 2012 Aurora, CO Twelve people were killed and 58 were injured in Aurora, Colorado during a sold-out midnight premier of the new Batman movie “The Dark Knight Rises” when 24-year-old James Holmes unloaded four weapons’ full of ammunition into the unsuspecting crowd. He detonated multiple smoke bombs, and then began firing at viewers in the sold-out auditorium, Ten members of “The Dark Knight Rises” audience were killed in theater, while two others died later at area hospitals. Numerous patrons were in critical condition at six local hospitals, the Aurora police said. (Colorado Movie Theater Shooting: 70 Victims The Largest Mass Shooting.)
24. CNN, August 5, 2012 Oak Creek, WI, Seven people were killed, including the gunman and three injured at a Sikh temple in a Milwaukee suburb. The FBI is investigating the incident as a “domestic terrorist-type incident”. (Gunman, six others dead at Wisconsin Sikh temple.)
25. San Antonio, TX, August 14, 2012 San Antonio, TX Three people were killed near Texas A&M University when a 35-year-old-man went on a shooting rampage; one of the dead was a police officer.[i]
26. abclocal.go.com/ktrk tv, September 3, 2012 Houston, TX Three men lost their lives and three others were wounded in a shooting early Sunday morning outside Club I.C.U. An argument between two women spilled over outside the club. At least two of the victims were intentionally gunned down and the others may have been hit by stray bullets.
27. Minneapolis, MN, September 27, 2012 Minneapolis, MN A 36-year-old man who had just been laid off from Accent Signage Systems in Minneapolis, Minnesota, entered his former workplace and shot five people to death, and wounded three others before killing himself. 
28. Brookfield, WI, October 21, 2012 Brookfield, WI 45-year-old Radcliffe Frankin Haughton shot three women to death, including his wife, Zina Haughton, and injured four others at a spa in Brookfield, Wisconsin, before killing himself.
29. Portland, OR, December 11, 2012 Portland, OR 22-year-old Jacob Tyler Roberts killed 2 people and himself with a stolen rifle in Clackamas Town Center in Oregon. His motive is unknown.
30. Newtown, CT, December 14, 2012 Newtown, CT One man, and possibly more, murders a reported twenty-six people at an elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, including twenty children, before killing himself.

It is impossible to say how much illegal drugs, psychotropic drugs, violent movies and video games add to the problem but I’m sure they are responsible for some of the senseless murders in our country. We know gang violence is one of the top killers in our society closely followed by mental illness. 112 people lost their lives while 10 of the shooters either killed themselves or were killed. At least 185 were wounded in these occurrences. Dozens of lives were changed and not all for the better.

Yet there are other forms of murder that cost many times the number lost to guns. Abortion and the “morning after pill” account for the loss of close to 3000 lives every day.[ii] That equates to 1,095,000 per year.

Here are further statistics on murders in America:

Interesting no one calls for the ban of anything but guns when guns are the least cause of murder, injury or ruined lives.

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