America seems to have a strange tryst with death and guns. To an extent, this flows from the 2nd amendment that makes owning guns a fundamental right. Just a few weeks back a gunman opened fire from the 32nd floor of a hotel in Las Vegas and killed 58 persons attending a concert. Now a gunman entered a church in Austin, a small town in Texas and opened fire killing 26 and injuring 20.
Both the massacres have a common thread and that is the use of an automatic rifle by a lone gunman. As both the assailants have died, the police can only make conjectures as to why the incidents took place.
Wierd theories are floated, but the fact remains that easy availability of automatic weapons and the lax attitude of the authorities is a contributory factor in these killings. These wanton killings remind one of Hades, the land of the dead and one wonders whether America is close to such a place. The killings were reported by CNN.
The killer
The killer who shot and killed inside the church has been identified. His name is Devin Patrick Kelly. It is now known that he was given a dishonorable discharge from the Air Force after a Court Martial. Sadly, there was no follow up on this and the information was not disseminated to concerned authorities, otherwise, there would have been some check on the killer.
This did not happen and as reported by CNN, the killer could buy an automatic rifle in 2016.The killer had his motive, no doubt about it, but as he is dead, there is nothing concrete to confirm why he went berserk.
Politicians
A fact that stands out is that ordinary Americans who have lived as law-abiding citizens, suddenly resort to violence and killing with guns.
Who will stop this? The Texas governor has called it the worst massacre in Texas history and Donald Trump has condemned the violent killings. These appear run of the mill statements, that are routinely dished out by politicians. One wonders if they feel the pain of the killings that are experienced by dear and near ones, who lost their friend or a relative in the shooting.
The killing will soon be forgotten and life will go on as usual, till another killing with a rifle takes place.
Saving grace
The saving grace of the killing was that a passerby engaged the gunman and with his rifle and was able to hit him. The killer was pursued and later was found dead. Probably he ended his life with his own gun. In such killings, names lose their importance as one is confronted with the magnitude of the murders that are occurring with alarming frequency in America. Who will stop it? Does it mean that all citizens must carry guns all the time to protect themselves?There does not appear to be a silver lining on a dark horizon.
