The battle for gun reform rages on. (photo: FireArmsTraining4u.com)
2014 Kicks Off With Gun Crimes Across the Country
02 January 14
he new year may be a time for resolutions and fresh starts, but one thing didn't change at all as the calendar page turned this year: America's gun violence epidemic continued without pause through midnight Tuesday.
As revelers imbibed and danced their way into 2014, here is a look at some of the gun violence that unfurled across the country:
7:00 pm, Barberton, OH: Two shot dead, two others shot and injured at New Year's Eve party.
9:10 pm, Oakland, CA: One person was killed and two others (including a child) were injured as people headed out to their New Year's celebrations Tuesday. The shooting was Oakland's 92nd homicide of 2013.
11:00 pm, Pittsburgh, PA: Just before the new year began, three people were injured in a shooting near a bar in East Pittsburgh.
11:00 pm, Seattle, WA: Two people were shot, one critically and in the head, at a party in Seattle less than an hour before midnight.
12:00 am, Jacksonville, FL: While celebrating the start of 2014, a Florida man playing with his gun accidentally shot himself in the head.
12:30 am, Benton County, MO: Just half an hour after the ball dropped, a man in Missouri was shot and killed in what is being described as a "domestic altercation."
12:55 am, Toms River, NJ: Police arrived to a chaotic scene at a hotel in New Jersey where someone had opened fire - people were climbing out of windows and screaming after three people were shot at a party. The gunman is still on the loose.
12:56 am, Anchorage, AK: One man accidentally shot another inside his home in the early hours of 2014. The man who shot the gun has been charged with misconduct involving a weapon, and first degree assault.
1:45 am, Evanston, OH: One person was killed and another injured in Ohio's first homicide of 2014.
2:00 am, Chicago, IL: Police in Chicago responded to reports of shots fired just before 2:00 Wednesday morning. After a person allegedly raised a gun at the cops, they opened fire. In total, four people were shot by police fire.
2:30 am, Memphis, TN: Gunshots rang through a night club in Memphis in the wee hours of Wednesday morning, and a man leaving the club ended up injured by the bullets. Another bullet hole was found in a bouncer's shirt, though he had not been hit.
2:40 am, Cromwell, CT: Just outside of another hotel party for the new year, a person was shot in the leg. Private security found the victim after hearing gunshots coming from a parking garage outside the hotel.
3:00 am, New York, NY: 17-year old Malik Bhola was shot in the chest in Brooklyn. After being taken to the hospital, he was pronounced dead.
3:00 am, New Haven, CT: A man was left in critical condition after being shot in the head at a New Year's Eve hotel party just before 3:00 am.
All times are local and approximate. This is only a partial list of incidents
While New Year's Eve might seem the exception - a time when raucous partying gets out of hand - these incidents are sadly common on any day of the year. On average, 32 people in the United States are killed by guns every day, and another 140 end up in the emergency room with gunshot wounds.
Still, any national attempts to remedy America's gun violence problem have been unsuccessful. A push by Congressional lawmakers in 2013 to require background checks on almost all gun purchases was met with strong resistance by the pro-gun lobby despite having support from 90 percent of Americans. Thanks to a filibuster, the measure failed to pass the Senate and never even reached the House for consideration.
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