Wisconsin [US]: Two people were injured in gunfire by a shooter at a funeral in Graceland Cemetery in Wisconsin on Thursday, according to police and local media.
The funeral was being held for a man identified as 37-year-old King, who was shot at and killed by a police officer in Racine County in Wisconsin last week.
“At 2:26 pm there were multiple shots fired at Graceland Cemetery,” the Racine police had tweeted.
“There are victims but unknown how many at this time,” police originally said but later confirmed to the Journal Sentinel (a daily morning broadsheet printed in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) that two adults were struck by gunfire.
The shooting occurred at the interment for Da’Shontay L. King Sr., the man fatally shot by Racine police on May 20, King’s sister, Natasha Mullen, said. “We were at the gravesite trying to get prepared to bury him, and bullets started flying everywhere,” she said.
Notably, King, 37, was fatally killed by a Racine police officer during a traffic stop about two weeks ago.
The Racine Police had said they were carrying out a search warrant on a vehicle when King, who they said had a handgun and ran from the car. Following this, Zachary B. Brenner, the Racine police officer, shot King. As of now, it is not clear exactly why the police officer shot King.
According to the Racine police, King “took action” that prompted Brenner to shoot, but the Wisconsin Department of Justice did not mention such an action in a statement.
King’s funeral service took place at noon Thursday at the Fellowship of Christian Believers Church, 703 Washington Ave., according to his obituary. His interment at the cemetery was to follow.
Racine Mayor Cory Mason, in a statement, said, “Today’s heinous shooting at a cemetery, while a family was already mourning the loss of a loved one, is a new low for these perpetrators of violence in our community.” “The violence has got to stop! Revenge is not the answer,” Mason added, reported the Wisconsin local media portal on its website.
The Mayor asked the Racine police to enforce a curfew for all people under the age of 18. As a safety measure, the Mayor said that all juvenile residents must be home by 11 pm.
There is a recent upsurge seen in incidents of shootings in the US. Earlier, an 18-year-old gunman opened fire at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. The death toll in the mass shooting incident at a school in Texas was 21, including 19 children and two adults.
US President Joe Biden condemned the attack on students at a school in Texas, saying that gun laws cannot prevent every tragedy, but they have a positive impact pointing out that mass shootings tripled after the assault weapon ban expired.
On Thursday, Biden urged US Congress to ban assault-style weapons and expand background checks to curb gun violence in the United States.
The president also called for “red flag” laws and a repeal of the immunity that protects gun manufacturers from legal liability if their weapons are used in violence.
“For God’s sake, how much more carnage are we willing to accept?” Biden asked, adding, “How many more innocent lives must be taken before we say, ‘Enough’?”
The remarks come after the US, in just three weeks, witnessed three deadly shootouts and 35 deaths. The most recent one that took place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, resulted in five people dead, including the shooter at Saint Francis Hospital.
Over half of Americans supported making gun violence laws more strict, The Hill reported citing a poll conducted between the mass shootings that took place this month in New York and Texas.
Fifty-four per cent of those surveyed in a CBS News-YouGov poll out said they would like to see stricter laws regulating the sale of guns.
A total of 30 per cent say they want gun laws to remain the same, and 16 per cent said they wanted gun laws to be less strict, the report added. (ANI)
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