August 4, 2019

“Call the Senate Back”: America Responds to Its Second Shooting in 13 Hours

A shooting in downtown Dayton, Ohio, left nine dead early Sunday morning.

Dayton, Ohio residents await the names of victims of Sunday's shooting.Julie Carr Smyth/AP

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Nine people were killed and at least 27 were injured during a shooting early Sunday morning in a popular nightlife district of downtown Dayton, Ohio.

Police killed the suspect, who was wearing body armor and used an assault rifle, according to officials. Dayton Mayor Nan Whaley says the gunman used a “.223-caliber, high-capacity magazine” and had extra magazines with him.

The shooting occurred just 13 hours after a shooting left 20 dead in an El Paso shopping center and a week after a gunman at a garlic festival in Gilroy, Calif., killed three people, two of whom were children.

“As a mayor, this is a day that we all dread happening,” said Whaley in a news conference. “And certainly what’s very sad as I’ve gotten messages from cities across the country is that so many of us have gone through it.”

On Sunday morning, President Donald Trump tweeted that the FBI and law enforcement are working together in Dayton and in EL Paso following the shootings. 

US Rep. Mike Turner, a Republican based in the Dayton area, tweeted that his daughter had just entered a bar across the street when the shooting began. “As they ran home, I followed their progress & prayed for them & our community. Thank you to @DaytonPolice for their bravery in stopping this evil.”

Some Ohio leaders went beyond condolences, calling for stricter gun control. “We are also angry—angry that shooting after shooting, politicians in Washington and Columbus refuse to pass sensible gun-safety laws to protect our communities,” tweeted Ohio Sen. Sherrod Brown (D). Speaking with CNN’s Jake Tapper on Sunday, he called for Sen. Mitch McConnell to “call the Senate back” to pass gun control measures in the wake of the shootings in Dayton and El Paso. 

Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio) said in a statement that these “senseless acts of violence must stop” but did not mention gun control.

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