Mass shootings in US worsening in Trump era

By Beyza Binnur Donmez

ANKARA (AA) - The U.S. was shaken by two mass shootings last weekend that claimed at least 31 lives and injured dozens.

Saturday's attack in El Paso, Texas, was one of the most deadly in the country's history, where 22 people were killed and as many more wounded in a shooting at a shopping mall.

The suspect, Patrick Crusius, 21, is a white male from Allen, Texas -- almost 700 miles away. He has since been taken into custody.

Crusius is being investigated after he allegedly posted a racist online essay that claimed the attack was a response to the “Hispanic invasion of Texas” and made reference to the “Great Replacement,” a white supremacist conspiracy theory that claims people of European descent are being demographically replaced by non-whites, as reported by the British newspaper, The Independent.

Another massacre in Dayton, Ohio followed just 13 hours after Texas. Nine victims were killed along with the lone suspect who was shot dead by local police. More than a dozen others were wounded.

The 24-year-old suspect, Connor Betts, from Ohio, targeted Blacks. The motive of the shooter remains unclear.

According to the data gathered by The Independent, the U.S. has experienced four of the most deadly shootings in the country’s history since President Donald Trump took office in 2017. He ran on a racist and anti-immigration platform.

All the perpetrators below were white men.

- Las Vegas

Stephen Paddock, a 54-year-old white man, opened gunfire at a concert from the 32nd floor of a hotel, killing 58 people in the city in 2017.

- Sutherland Springs, Texas,

A white shooter, Devin Patrick Kelley, opened fire on a small church in Sutherland Springs claiming 25 lives and an unborn child.

- El Paso, Texas

Suspected gunman Patrick Crusius, 21, who is believed to hold white supremacist ideologies, killed at least 22 people at a Walmart. Authorities are questioning a him after he allegedly posted a racist essay online shortly before the massacre.

- Stoneman Douglas High School

A former white student named Nikolas Cruz, 19, unleashed gunfire at the school in Parkland, Florida, killing 17 children and staff members.