Another Case Of Abhorrent Terrorism: Another White Nationalist, A Racist Bigot

04/08/2019

The news is again consumed with the horror of mass-shootings in America.

Not just one, but two separate incidents within hours of each other.

The first took place in El Paso, Texas.

The Texas shooter caught on CCTV entering the Walmart sure where he murdered 20 people and injured many more

The Texas shooter, named as Patrick Crusius, apparently posted a racist, white supremacist, manifesto online just minutes before beginning his murderous attack in a Walmart store.

Crusius is said to have driven nine hours from his home in Allen, Dallas, which is about 650 miles east of El Paso. This journey was undertaken with the very deliberate intent to murder Hispanic people and spread terror in the community he attacked.

Patrick Crusius' journey, which he undertook in order to carry out an act of terror, was longer than driving from the South Western tip of England, Land's End, to the North Eastern town of Berwick-upon-Tweed

Crusius is believed to have shared his white supremacist manifesto on an online forum. The content indicates that the attack was targeted at the local Hispanic community, with the gunman referring to the theft of jobs from white Americans.

The shooting happened as shoppers purchased back-to-school supplies for their children. As I write this piece, no details of the victims have been made available, so it is not known if they include children. However, Mexico's President, Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, has apparently confirmed that three Mexicans were among the dead.

The US President has apparently described the attack as an act of cowardice, but it is Trump’s anti-migrant rhetoric that has stoked racism in the United States and led to violence such as this. He is partially responsible for the loss of life because of the hate he has helped stoke in America.

Within hours of the El Paso shooting, a further nine people were murdered and at least a further 26 were injured in another mass shooting in Dayton, Ohio.

The shooting took place in the Oregon district of Ohio's city centre at about 1:00 a.m. (approximately 6:00 a.m. GMT).

The shooting is believed to have happened in a bar called Ned Peppers at 1:00 a.m.

Police apparently killed the gunman within a minute of him opening fire, which will clearly have saved many lives. If the police were not in a position to bring such a quick end to the incident, the death toll might have been far higher and the number injured too.

Mayor Nan Whaley told reporters she was "amazed" by the quick response of the officers, but acknowledged that it would be a "very, very difficult time" for families of victims. "As a Mayor, this is a day that we all dread happening," she said. "What's very sad is I've got messages from Mayors across the country; it's sad that we've all gone through it."

Dayton Police delivered an update to reporters on the events that took place in a local bar

At this stage, it is not know what the cause of the Ohio shooting was. However, irrespective of the murderer's motivation, the fact remains that America's gun laws need to be reviewed in order to have some chance of bring an end to the continued and senseless deaths.

America claims to be a great nation, but as long as they continue to spout nonsense about more guns being the solution, they be viewed by many as anything but great.