According to the Dayton police, the death toll in the horrific shooting near a bar in the Ohio city has risen to nine, while others have sustained injuries. With the tragic incident coming as the second in just 24 hours, following a massacre at a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas that took the lives of 20 innocent people, an all-embracing social security debate is gaining momentum.
Under the hashtag #Daytonshooting, many rushed to recall perturbing statistics across the US on mass shootings and began resorting to slurs, as nothing appears to be changing over time:
Fun thing about being American is that if you stay up late enough trying to process one mass shooting, you'll be awake to hear the first reports about the next. #DaytonShooting
— Miel (@thisgracemiel) August 4, 2019
Others straight away put the blame on the government, calling for storming the White House “instead of the Area-51” – something broadly trending in a viral online craze.
#fuckarea51 #stormthewhitehouse
— Fuck Trump (@barefootbritt) August 4, 2019
Another fucking mass shooting. I am so tired of this. When the fuck are we going to see change? #daytonshooting
— bianca (@uhhbianca) August 4, 2019
The gun legislation issue was naturally also on everybody’s lips, with calls for more effective laws with this regard renewed and becoming increasingly persistent:
With two #massshootings in one day it's hard to tell if the Americans are still at the #ThoughtsAndPrayers or "Too early to talk about it..." stage of doing fuck all about #GunReform#Daytonshooting #ElPasoShooting
— Seano (@SeanBradbery) August 4, 2019
You can VOTE in next election and support candidates who will enact safer gun laws.. I am in CT where gun laws are safe yet we are all at risk.. universal gun laws needed!!
— SBC (@CerShar) August 4, 2019
One thing we can do is have a gun to protect us, so when this does happen to us we have something to fight back with
— MW3OG Screwston (@Screwston10) August 4, 2019
The 250th mass shooting -- of 2019 -- in Dayton, Ohio less than 24 hours after El Paso... 🤦♀️
— The Last Person to join Tw❄️tter (@TheLastPersont2) August 4, 2019
This doesn't happen in other developed countries - because after the first one effective gun law reform is passed...#daytonshooting pic.twitter.com/AtJ5MpxgFQ
250 mass shootings in 215 days: Is America Great Again Now? #ElPasoShooting #DaytonShooting pic.twitter.com/PG7ezOILQv
— Dan Paholski (@DanPaholski) August 4, 2019
Some, however, struck back, arguing that owning guns in attacks involving “white supremacists” doesn’t help:
Wrong. Plenty of people had guns in Texas today. But the white supremacist terrorist got arrested without a scratch. After shooting 46 people.
— Ex Cossack (@ExCossack) August 4, 2019
Thoughts and prayers are all good and well, many have come to state, but by far not enough to prevent similar attacks from happening in the future:
#PrayForElPaso #daytonshooting
— Taylor Rea (@TaylorRea02) August 4, 2019
Enough Is Enough. pic.twitter.com/Z3qyoYu7Bi
— Mary L Avery (@MaryLAvery16) August 4, 2019
Others directly addressed politicians “who use racism [and] hate speech to whip up rage and fear”, seeing this as the root cause of the shooting episodes:
Doing nothing makes us feel more despair. We need to call out politicians who use racism & hate speech to whip up rage & fear, demand they step down. There was a vigil at the White House tonight, we need to be in the streets like people in other countrieshttps://t.co/uxMyndZrI2
— 𝟷𝟿𝟾𝟺⚘ɪꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ꜰɪᴄᴛɪᴏɴ 🌊💦💙 (@dutchiegirlie) August 4, 2019
POTUS has blood on his hands. No other way to interrupt #ElPasoShooting
— Jules (@jannwis) August 3, 2019
By saying it's not Trump's fault by default it is indirectly. Trump's racist rants fall on the ears on borderline psychos & they pull the trigger for Trump.
— 🔥CarmenHatesRacism🔥 (@growApair777) August 3, 2019
…whereas one argued that the El Paso shooter had stated in his manifesto that “he held his beliefs long before Trump was elected”:
I read somewhere that he states in the manifesto that he held these beliefs long before trump was elected, and so it’s “not trump’s fault”.
— UnPrecedential (@KimCamarato) August 3, 2019
That’s not the point; he chose to act NOW.
That actually makes it WORSE for @realDonaldTrump.
Another, meanwhile, called for getting at least a slight idea of what the history of Texas is like and who the territory belonged to first:
Maybe it would help if we taught true Texas/American history. It was Mexico, then Texas, Then parts went back to Mexico and then back to Texas. They were here first.
— Resistance from the💙of TX! (@KatinLexington) August 3, 2019
…while others suggested the US would be better off borrowing the gun policies from other developed countries:
By saying it's not Trump's fault by default it is indirectly. Trump's racist rants fall on the ears on borderline psychos & they pull the trigger for Trump.
— 🔥CarmenHatesRacism🔥 (@growApair777) August 3, 2019
The vicious circle between the opposing agendas of Democrats and Republicans agendas over the gun control issue and its repercussions was also brought up:
#DaytonShooting occurs.
— Jake (@jake_northwest) August 4, 2019
Democrats: We need #GunControlNow
Republicans: No. 2nd Amendment, NRA, yadda. This is a mental health issue.
Democrats: Ok… well here are healthcare policies that would guarantee Americans access to mental healthcare.
Republicans: NO! That’s socialism!
In the wake of the El Paso shooting on Saturday, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has opened a domestic terrorism probe, which, according to the police, may be classified as capital murder and a hate crime targeting Hispanic people. The shooter reportedly posted a manifesto online before assaulting people inside Walmart, describing a detailed plan to separate the US into territories according to race.
US President Donald Trump condemned Saturday's mass shooting at a Walmart in Texas as “not only tragic”, but an "act of cowardice", adding that "there are no reasons or excuses that will ever justify killing innocent people".
