Tragedy

A man armed with two handguns killed 13 people at an immigration services center in Birmingham, New York, before apparently turning the gun on himself. The gunman blocked the back entrance of the building with a car, walked in the front door and shot two receptionists, one of whom died, before entering a classroom and killing 12 more people and then apparently committing suicide. Four other people were critically wounded.

Another man opened fire on officers in Pittsburgh during a domestic disturbance call, killing three officers. Friends said he had been upset recently about losing his job and that he feared the Obama administration was poised to ban guns.

In Jonesboro, Georgia, a man was shot over spilled beer. An argument started after one man accidentally spilled his beer on another at a bar. The bar’s staff threw the two men out when their verbal dispute turned physical, but once outside, one man pulled out a concealed handgun and shot the other man several times. The gunman then climbed into a white car and fled the scene. The victim was taken to Grady Memorial Hospital, where he remains in fair condition.

A murder had previously occurred at the same bar on December 23. Following an argument, a man went to his car to get a 9 mm handgun and upon returning shot another man twice in the back. The car the suspect fled in has been recovered but he has not been seen since the shooting.

What do these stories have in common? Cheap. readily available guns.