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US: 2 dead, multiple wounded, in Florida shooting

May 30, 2021

Florida has been rocked by another mass shooting that left several dead and dozens more injured. Authorities said they are searching for three attackers.

https://p.dw.com/p/3uB5W
Police at the scene of the shooting in Florida
Sunday's incident is the most recent in the series of mass shootings in the USImage: Joe Cavaretta/South Florida Sun-Sentinel/AP/picture alliance

Two people were killed and at least 20 others wounded during a shooting early Sunday morning at a banquet hall northwest of Miami-Dade County, Florida, according to the local police director Alfredo Ramirez III.

Ramirez told reporters that three people got out of a vehicle and fired into a crowd standing outside the El Mula Banquet Hall in the town of Hialeah, which had been rented out for a concert. 

"According to investigators, the establishment was hosting a scheduled event and several patrons were standing outside," Miami-Dade Police Department said in a statement.

CNN reported that the assailants were armed with assault weapons and handguns. 

"These are cold-blooded murderers that shot indiscriminately into a crowd and we will seek justice,'' Ramirez said in a tweet.

The two victims died at the scene, police said. As many as 25 people were sent to area hospitals with injuries.  

No arrests have yet been announced.

Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said he was "praying for the recovery" of the victims and pledged help from state authorities. "We are working with local authorities to bring justice to the perpetrators. Justice needs to be swift & severe!" DeSantis tweeted.

Gun violence 'epidemic'

The events in Florida are just the latest example of deadly gun violence in the country. The non-profit organization Gun Violence Archive reported that there were 200 mass shootings in the US in the first 132 days of the year.

The number of people who were killed with guns, including suicides, surpassed 43,000 in 2020, the research group said.

President Joe Biden condemned gun violence as an "epidemic" and an "international embarrassment" last month. He has expressed an eagerness to tighten gun ownership restrictions, but will inevitably face strong resistance from Republican lawmakers in Congress, who have again and again shot down reform attempts.

Florida was the scene of a deadly school shooting in 2018 in which 17 people died. A mass shooting at an LGBT+ nightclub in Orlando in 2016 also made headlines worldwide.

ab, wmr/nm (AP, AFP, Reuters)