Mass shootings across the US mark the first weekend of summer

The first weekend of summer brought a tragic but familiar pattern for American cities ravaged by gun violence, with mass shootings killing or wounding dozens at a party in Alabama, an entertainment district in Ohio and a supermarket in Arkansas.

It was the second straight weekend of mass shootings in the US, prompting mayors in places marred by the violence to plead for help.

In Michigan, a police officer was fatally shot while pursuing a suspected stolen vehicle in what the county sheriff described as an ambush. A Philadelphia police officer was seriously injured Saturday after pulling over a car with four people.

Police in Montgomery, Alabama, said hundreds of bullets were fired at a crowded party early Sunday, wounding nine people. Interim Police Chief John Hall said investigators have recovered more than 350 different spent shell casings.

“This senseless violence simply has to stop,” said Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed, who called it a blessing that no one died while asking for help to keep guns out of the hands of criminals.

One reason for so many multi-victim shootings is the increased use of modified weapons that can fire hundreds of rounds, said Jillian Snider, a lecturer at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York.

“That’s why you see more and more victims who are not even involved in the initial confrontation,” she said.

Gunfire broke out Sunday morning on the main street of a popular dining and entertainment district near downtown Columbus, Ohio.

Ten people were injured, one of whom was in critical condition. The city’s mayor called for more action from state and federal governments to keep guns off the streets and parents to keep an eye on their children. Mayor Andrew Ginther said the gun violence is “outrageous, unacceptable and it must stop.”

FBI statistics show that overall violent crime in the U.S. is down after a pandemic-era spike, but it may not feel that way to most people after the recent shootings, says University of Miami criminologist Alex Piquero.

Summer always brings an increase in violence because school is out, there are more social gatherings and warmer temperatures can cause tempers to flare, he said. “That creates an appropriate structure for violence to take place,” Piquero said.

Some of the shootings last weekend took place at large parties. Police in Dayton, Ohio, said a 22-year-old woman was killed and six people were injured Monday morning after a drive-by shooting at a vacant home where a large crowd had gathered.

Six people were injured early Sunday at a park in Rochester, New York, after police said at least one person began shooting into a crowd. Elsewhere early Sunday, one man was killed and five others were injured in a shooting in downtown St. Louis that police say began when a fight broke out between several women and men who intervened with firearms.

The weekend of mass shootings began Friday in the small town of Fordyce, Arkansas, where four people were killed and another 11 injured — including the alleged shooter. The gunfire sent shoppers and store employees running for cover. Among the dead was a 23-year-old new mother.

___

Seewer reported from Toledo, Ohio, and Johnson reported from Atlanta. Associated Press writer Kimberly Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama, contributed to this report.