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Rash of mass shootings stirs US fears heading into summer

Posted at 9:19 PM, Jun 12, 2021
and last updated 2021-06-12 21:19:44-04

CHICAGO -- Authorities say two people were killed and at least 30 others wounded in mass shootings overnight in three states.

The shootings Friday night and early Saturday further stoked concerns a spike in U.S. gun violence during the coronavirus pandemic could continue into summer amid an easing of COVID-19 restrictions.

Authorities said one of two suspects was arrested Saturday in the shooting in the Texas capital of Austin, but none in the Chicago or Savannah, Georgia, gunfire.

James Alan Fox, a criminologist and professor at Northeastern University, says a blend of people starting to get out, warmer weather, a high level of divisiveness, and a proliferation of guns make for “a potentially deadly mix.”

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