Memorial Day weekend is usually a time for families to gather and enjoy each other’s company while also honoring those who fought for our country. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the holiday, it is also one where more people tend to get hurt because of other people’s recklessness. Over the weekend, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, mayor Cherelle Parker had to address the city after a case of senseless gun violence left two people dead and various others injured at Fairmount Park.
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Mayor Cherelle Parker addressed the city and how unacceptable the situation was, citing that the shooter used a device known as a ‘switch’ to make the gun fully automatic. “As your mayor, I want to affirm to all of Philadelphia today that there are no excuses for this. This is a heinous act of violence that was inhumane, no regard for life.” However, despite this speech, an arrest has yet to be made and it is suspected that there are three gunmen who had opened fire.
The additional technology attached to the gun effectively transformed it into a wartime weapon, making it something that should not be accessible to the average person. Despite not having the weapon in hand, police commissioner Kevin Bethel said, “We’re pretty confident, but we don’t have the weapon in hand, that a switch was involved. You cannot fire that many levels of bullets with such speed and time without having some type of switch on it.“
What I would argue to be even worse is that it is unknown how many people were at Fairmount Park when the shooting happened at 10:30 pm. Considering that some of the other victims were minors, it’s terrifying to think how many more victims could have been involved in such a senseless crime.
Unfortunately, despite a speech having been made to bring awareness to the situation and to the city’s thoughts against gun violence, various commenters believe that nothing will be accomplished. One commenter said on the above video said, “Same speech, no action 🙄.” While sad, I can’t help but agree with the sentiment.
