CHICAGO (NewsNation Now) — There were at least a dozen mass shootings across the country since Friday. The violent weekend left 11 dead in Chicago, two dead in Minneapolis and nearly 30 shot in New York.
White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki addressed the situation Monday. When asked if there is a crime problem in America, she responded, “We have a gun problem.”
In North Charleston, South Carolina, a 14-year-old was killed at what police are calling an unauthorized neighborhood concert.
In Ohio, there were two mass shootings. One in Columbus left a 16-year-old dead. Another in Youngstown took three lives.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy addressed a birthday party shooting in Fairfield Township where a gunman opened fire, killing two and injuring more than a dozen. A 36-year-old suspect is now in custody.
“What we saw here in Fairfield is a microcosm of the scale of gun violence we see elsewhere, in other communities in our state and across the country,” Murphy said.
Kris Brown, President of the Washington-based gun control advocacy group Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said there are more guns than people in the United States.
“Coronavirus has been absolutely horrific,” Brown said. “But we have seen gun sales surge over the last year — 64% increase in gun sales over 2019-2020 numbers.”