A string of shootings left at least six people dead and nearly three dozen others wounded in Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Tennessee this weekend, a spasm of gun violence that came as the nation continues mourning the lives lost in mass shootings last month in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas.
In Pennsylvania, police say multiple shooters fired into a crowd late Saturday night on South Street, a famous Philadelphia drag known for its nightlife, character and vibrancy. Authorities said three people were killed by the gunfire, and at least 11 others were wounded. Police said multiple handguns were recovered at the scene, but no arrests have been made.
"Once again, we see lives lost and people injured in yet another horrendous, brazen and despicable act of gun violence," Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney said in a statement on Sunday.
Gunfire in Chattanooga left two dead
In Chattanooga, Tenn., police responded early Sunday to a shooting near a nightclub. Three people were killed and 14 others were injured, according to police chief Celeste Murphy.
Two people died from gunshot wounds, while a third person died of injuries after being hit by a vehicle, Murphy said. The police chief said multiple people are thought to have opened fire, but no arrests had been made as of Sunday morning. Last week, six people were wounded in a gunfire exchange in downtown Chattanooga.
Bullets tore apart a graduation party in South Carolina
Meanwhile, in South Carolina, at least eight people were shot at a graduation party in what authorities in Clarendon County described as a suspected drive-by shooting. A 32-year-old woman was killed, while seven others were wounded. Six of the seven injured were age 17 or younger, authorities said.
Police say the incident may have been gang-related.
"This was a school graduation party and you've got all these innocent children that were there that were hit by gunfire," Sheriff Tim Baxley said.
156 days, at least 240 mass shootings
Some 156 days into 2022, the country has now seen at least 240 mass shootings, according to the Gun Violence Archive. That puts the nation on track for one of the deadliest years on record since the archive began tracking gun deaths. The site defines a mass shooting as any incident in which four or more people are killed or injured by a gun.
Since May 14, when a racist attack at a Buffalo, N.Y., supermarket took the lives of 10 people, there have been at least four dozen mass shootings in the U.S., according to data from the Gun Violence Archive. That includes the attack on Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas that left 19 students and two teachers dead.
