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EnoughMassShooting

Four Killed In Tulsa Hospital Shooting As Senate Has “Framework” For Gun Legislation

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Four people were killed as a gunman opened fire at Saint Francis Hospital in Tulsa, Oklahoma Wednesday, authorities reported. The unidentified gunman, described as being between 35 to 40 years old, is also dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Among the four deaths are 10 injuries, none of which are life-threatening. The shooting occurred shortly before 5:00 p.m., with authorities arriving around 4:56 p.m. The gunman and victims were found on the floor five minutes later.

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According to Tulsa Police Capt. Richard Meulenberg, the gunman shot himself as police were attempted to break down a stairwell door in order to enter the medical building. The victims appear to be a mix of hospital employees and patients.

Federal sources identified the gunman’s weapon as an AR-15 style firearm, while a semiautomatic pistol while also found on the scene. “It was just madness inside, with hundreds of rooms and hundreds of people trying to get out of the building,” Meulenberg told CNN. While a motive has yet to be identified, the gunman’s activity and targets suggest to Meulenberg this was not simply a random act of violence.

“He very purposefully went to this location, went to a very specific floor, and shot with very specific purpose. This was not a random shooting by this individual.”

The shooting comes a little over a week after 19 students and two teachers were killed at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas and follows up a Memorial Day weekend that, according to the Gun Violence Archive, saw nine killed and 60 injured across 14 mass shootings.

While a mass shooting is considered by the Gun Violence Archive to be one where at least four people are shot, it also kept track of all gun violence across the weekend (from 5:00 p.m. May 27 to 5:00 a.m. May 31), which resulted in 156 deaths and 412 injuries. By the archive’s definition, there have been 233 mass shootings since January.

The stretch of mass shootings has resulted in waves of calls for gun reform, and it appears change — or at least the effort to make it — may be in sight. Speaking to NBC News, a source close to talks confirmed that Democratic and Republican negotiators have met to discuss a gun legislation as a response to the Uvalde shooting. “There is a framework for a bill,” the source said.

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That group is made up of nine bipartisan senators, which includes Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.), Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), and Bill Cassidy (R-La.).

Collins stated that rapid progress is being made toward a “common sense package” that would garner support from both parties. The negotiators worked over the weekend, breaking up into smaller groups to focus on different elements like expanded background checks, incentives for state red flag laws, and funding for mental health services.

According to the source, the group is being “reasonable and focusing on what can both pass and save lives,” not leaving out anything that they believe could be done. “We are all speaking multiple times a day. There is still significant work to do and hurdles to overcome,” Blumenthal said.

Black Lives Matter Paper

Trump Faces Backlash For Scheduling Rally On Juneteenth In Tulsa, Oklahoma

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President Donald Trump is planning on restarting his campaign rallies for the November 2020 election, however, he’s already received some major backlash given the context of the entire announcement. Trump’s campaign trail was put to an obvious halt amid the Covid-19 pandemic, which is still very much a public health issue that has infected nearly 2 million Americans and killed more than 112,000 people in the US alone. 

The New York Times reported this week that Trump’s first “rebooted rally” will be taking place on June 19th in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Right away, individuals on social media pointed out that Trump scheduled this rally on Juneteenth; a national holiday meant to celebrate the end of slavery, it’s also referred to as Independence Day for Black Americans. Beyond that, the fact that the rally is taking place in Tulsa, Oklahoma – the same spot that the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 that killed over 300 black Americans took place – has many individuals angry with the president’s tone deafness given the current protests against police brutality in light of George Floyd’s murder. 

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The Tulsa Race Massacre occurred almost 100 years ago in Oklahoma in a place referred to at the time as “Black Wall Street.” This area of Tulsa was technically known as the Greenwood District, and was known for its large population of successful black Americans (there were over 300 black-owned businesses in the district). Unfortunately, successful black individuals caused racial tensions to heighten among white individuals living in Tulsa, as they were threatened by that success. 

One day, a 17-year-old white girl named Sarah Page claimed that a 19-year-old black man, Dick Rowland, assaulted her, igniting massive mobs of armed white men to storm Black Wall Street. Rowland was arrested and held in court, where even larger white mobs waited outside for him to be released so that they could lynch him. The next part of the story varies based on who you ask, but basically, a group of black veterans came to the courthouse to try to deescalate the situation, eventually a gun shot was heard and complete chaos broke out, leaving two white men dead, and over 300 black individuals dead and many unaccounted for; even to this day. The newspaper headlines the next day, however, only reported on the white deaths. More than 1,200 houses were destroyed, and now an interstate is paved over the spot where Black Wall Street used to thrive. 

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Many individuals weren’t even aware of this massacre until these protests began, as they don’t teach about it in American schools. It’s ignited an even larger conversation about the type of history that’s taught in our education system, and the many stories/historical events involving black individuals, and POC in general, that have been completely erased from all textbooks. The president’s announcement that this will be where he hosts his first reboot rally has ignited that same frustration induced by lack his of acknowledgment in the protests as well. 

In a statement from Trump’s campaign adviser Katrina Pierson, she defended the decision to host the rally in Tulsa on Juneteenth, stating that: “As part of the party of Lincoln, Republicans are proud of the history of Juneteenth, which is the anniversary of the last reading of the Emancipation Proclamation. Joe Biden spent last Juneteenth raising money at a private fundraiser and defending comments he made celebrating his work with segregationist senators,” Pierson wrote.

Beyond the racial insensitivity that many are calling out Trump for in relation to this Juneteenth rally, many are also calling him out for restarting political rallies while we’re still in the middle of a worldwide health pandemic. This move was likely due to the fact that Trump is already behind Biden in the polls and the fact that Trump has done historically very well among his Oklahoma voters. 

The Centers for Disease Control is still emphasizing that all Americans should avoid mass gatherings at all cost. Oklahoma is one of the 19 states that has recently reported a spike in new Covid-19 cases amid many states reopening weeks ago. Within the past week alone Oklahoma has reported 7,480 new cases and 355 deaths. 

What’s most important is that everyone continues to take this pandemic as seriously as they were in March. Continue to social distance, where a mask in public settings, wash your hands consistently, and stay home unless absolutely necessary.