U.S. witnesses violent Labor Day holiday as mass shootings nationwide cause multiple casualties

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 2 (Xinhua) — Several American cities were affected by gun violence over the Labor Day holiday, with multiple casualties reported from mass shootings across the country.
In New York City, five people were shot during the West Indian American Day celebrations in Brooklyn on Monday.
A gunman stood up on a parade barrier on the north side of Eastern Parkway service road and opened fire at the crowd, said police.
Two of the victims are in critical condition, while the other three are expected to survive, New York City Police Department (NYPD) Chief of Patrol John Chell said.
An investigation is ongoing, the suspect has not been arrested, and the authorities are searching for a gunman in his 20s, NYPD officials told a news briefing near the Brooklyn Museum.
In Forest Park in the state of Illinois, four passengers were shot and killed on a CTA Blue Line train as it was headed into the Forest Park terminal on Monday morning, said Forest Park police.
They said that three victims were found dead at the scene, and a fourth later died at a hospital. The suspect was taken into custody and a firearm was found.
“It’s a horrible situation. It’s definitely something that you don’t want to wake up to. It’s a Monday morning on a holiday. Everyone’s supposed to be enjoying their time off, time with their families,” said Forest Park Police Deputy Chief Christopher Chin.
In a statement, the CTA called the incident a “heinous and egregious act of violence” that “should never have occurred, nonetheless on a public transit train.”
In Tennessee, six people were injured early Monday morning in a shooting at the SkyBar & Lounge in Nashville. Police reported that the shots were fired in the parking lot, but the suspect has not yet been identified.
In Ohio, six people were injured in at least three separate shootings early Monday in East Cleveland, near a high school class reunion that drew hundreds of attendees. Police are still investigating the motive behind the shootings and have not yet arrested any suspects.
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy has declared firearm violence in America to be a public health crisis.
Since 2020, firearm-related injury has been the leading cause of death for U.S. children and adolescents, surpassing motor vehicle crashes, cancer, and drug overdose and poisoning, said a landmark Surgeon General’s Advisory on Firearm Violence issued in June.
In 2022, 48,204 total people died from firearm-related injuries in the United States, including suicides, homicides, and unintentional deaths, the advisory said. ■