On Wednesday, December 2nd, the 355th mass shooting in the last 336 days shocked the world. In San Bernardino, California, three suspects entered into the Inland Regional Center where they opened fire and killed 14 and injured 21. Two of these assailants were killed during a police standoff moments after the attack.
Married couple Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, the two assailants killed during the police chase, reportedly were involved with the ISIS terrorist group, determined after recovering Tashfeen’s Facebook post pledging support to ISIS before the shooting.
Across America people are mourning the loss of individuals who like Paris victims didn’t see this attack coming.
We can’t help but to reflect on the number of domestic shootings that has happened in the past years (listed below is a short list):
1. Dec. 2, 2015: Inland Regional Center Shooting in San Bernardino, California (Count: 14 dead, 21 injured)
2. Nov. 29, 2015: Planned Parenthood Shooting in Colorado Springs, Colorado (Count: 3 dead, 9 injured)
3. Oct. 1, 2015: Umpqua Community College Shooting in Roseburg, Oregon (Count: 9 dead, 9 injured)
4. July 16, 2015: Marine Training Shooting in Chattanooga, Tennessee (Count: 5 dead, 3 injured)
5. June 18, 2015: Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church Shooting in Charleston, South Carolina (Count: 9 dead)
6. May 23, 2014: Isla Vista Shooting in Isla Vista, California (Count: 6 dead, 7 injured)
7. April 2, 2014: Fort Hood Shooting in Ft. Hood, Texas (Count:3 dead, 16 injured)
8. September 16, 2013: Washington Navy Yard Shooting in Washington, D.C. (Count: 12 killed, 3 injured)
9. June 7, 2013: Santa Monica College Shooting in Santa Monica, California (Count: 5 dead)
10. Dec. 14, 2012: Sandy Hook Shooting in Newtown, Connecticut (Count: 27 killed)
11. Oct. 21, 2012: Azana Salon and Spa Shooting Brookfield, Wisconsin (Count: 3 dead, 4 injured)
12. Aug. 5, 2012: Wisconsin Sikh Temple Shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin (Count: 6 killed, 3 injured)
13. July 20, 2012: Aurora Theater Shooting in Aurora, Colorado (Count: 12 killed, 58 injured)
List supplied by LA Times
Over years we may forget the victims' names, however, we can’t forget the event. In one year there has been 355 mass shootings in America and on Wednesday the 355th marks the deadliest. We can’t find a solution to stop these occurrences, however, many beg the question of can we? Is it possible? Are gun restrictions not restrictive enough? President Barack Obama made this statement, something that is becoming repetitive, “The United States of America is the one advanced nation on Earth in which we do not have sufficient common-sense gun-safety laws – even in the face of repeated mass killings.”
Courtesy of Youtube User AJ+
Consciously, we can’t deny our revulsion for the repeated mass killings that have occurred in the United States in the past years. We argue about the control of gun laws and terrorist control, however, nothing has effectively happened to prevent these killings.
In no way are we blaming one individual’s actions on another. It is with grave concern that we fear that the list will continue to lengthen. When will this stop? Is the time coming where we must go to war to stop terrorism? Is the time coming where our trust in our own people has to be minuscule because of the amount of domestic shootings that occurs in just in a year alone?
I fear that "yes" will be the answers for these questions. We will forget these victims, in fact some people still don’t know their name, but, this event will be remembered and painstakingly has already been added to a long list of mass shootings in America.
The San Bernardino shooting opens our eyes to weak gun laws, however, we can't avoid the fact that terrorist groups like ISIS is recruiting individuals of American descent and having them turn against their own country.
6,100 rounds of ammunition was found on and at the home of Farook and Malik. 6,100 rounds that were possibly intended for many more domestic terrorist attacks, With grave fear we all shudder because we don't know what will happen next.
In San Bernardino, California and across the world, people are holding vigil for those 14 victims who lost their lives and those 21 who were injured. Hopefully, in the near future government officials look into domestic terrorism and the ineffectiveness of the current gun laws. Until then, across America people are wondering where ISIS will hit next.
Is this WAR??
We will take this moment to remember the victims of the San Bernardino Shooting:
1. Robert Adams, 40
2. Isaac Amanios, 60
3. Bennetta Betbadal, 46
4. Harry Bowman, 46
5. Sierra Clayborn, 27
6. Juan Espinoza, 50
7. Aurora Godoy, 26
8. Shannon Johnson, 45
9. Larry Daniel Kaufman, 42
10. Damian Meins, 58
11. Tin Nguyen, 31
12. Nicholas Thalasinos, 52
13. Yvette Velasco, 27
14. Michael Wetzel, 37
Rest easy, you will forever be in our prayers.
John 11:23-26 Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
