Series of US mass shootings brings weekend of death and mayhem

A series of mass shootings rocked the US early on Sunday, leaving at least one dead and 34 others wounded in just four cases reported in New York, Alabama, Missouri and Ohio.

The shootings came amid a broader spate of recent mass shootings, including the one at an Arkansas grocery store on Friday that left four dead and nine wounded – as well as another at a nightclub in Kentucky on Saturday that killed one and injured seven.

The violence brought the number of mass shootings in the US so far this year, as of Sunday, to more than 240 – an average of more than one daily, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

The non-partisan archive defines a mass shooting as one in which four or more victims are wounded or killed.

Such a high rate of mass shootings in the US has prompted some public calls for more substantial gun control. But the federal government has generally been unwilling or unable to heed those calls.

The weekend’s bloodshed came after the US supreme court’s decision earlier in June to strike down a federal ban on “bump stocks”, accessories which can allow a semiautomatic gun to fire as fast as a machine gun.

Following the 6-3 decision from the court’s conservative supermajority, Joe Biden condemned the ruling, saying that the decision “strikes down an important gun safety regulation”.

“I call on Congress to ban bump stocks, pass an assault weapon ban and take additional action to save lives – send me a bill and I will sign it immediately,” the president added.

Police did not address what kinds of guns or accessories may have been used in Sunday’s violence. But critics of the supreme court’s bump stocks decision maintain that such a ruling does not contribute to the general public’s safety.

One of Sunday’s shootings occurred at a park in Rochester, New York, after one person started firing into a crowd amid an argument. Six people were wounded in the shooting, which occurred at Rochester’s Dr Martin Luther King Jr Memorial Park.

The victims were a 17-year-old boy, three men who were 18, 21 and 33 years old – as well as two women who were 20 and 25 years old, according to police.

After the shooting, police detained a 38-year-old man and charged him with second-degree assault, second-degree obstructing governmental administration, resisting arrest and second-degree harassment, investigators said.

In Montgomery, Alabama, police and medics responded to reports of a shooting at about 1.45am Sunday. According to officials in the state capital, the shooting occurred at a party in the North Pass area where more than 600 shots were fired.

Montgomery’s mayor, Steven Reed, said nine people were wounded and at least four more were injured “in the chaos that followed”. According to police, the nine victims sustained injuries that were not life-threatening, and three children were among the victims.

City officials also reported that the four other people who were injured included a woman and two men who were hit by a car. The other was a woman who was injured by broken glass, WSFA reports.

Authorities did not name any suspects or immediately release details about a possible motive.

Meanwhile, at about 2.30am Sunday, a shooting in downtown St Louis, Missouri, left a 26-year-old man dead and at least five others injured, including one in critical condition.

According to police, the majority of the victims are in their early 20s, with the local news outlet Fox 2 reporting that homicide detectives believe a fight broke out between a group of women that led to gunfire.

“At some point, men became involved and firearms were pulled. At least one firearm was recovered from the scene but it’s too soon to know if it’s involved in the shooting,” St Louis police said on Twitter/X.

In Ohio, a manhunt was under way after a gunman opened fire at about 2.30am in the 1100 block of North High Street, leaving 10 people – including two teenagers – injured.

According to police, the victims were all male between the ages of 16 and 27. One of them was listed in critical condition, the local news outlet 10TV reported.

In a post on Facebook, Columbus police asked for help in finding a car.

• The Associated Press contributed reporting