Gunshots rang out again on the American campus, and a 23-year-old graduate bloodbathed his alma mater, killing 3 people and injuring 17

At 8:30 a.m. on August 27, a bloody shooting occurred at a Catholic school in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. The gunman, 23-year-old Robin Westerman, dressed in black and armed with a variety of weapons, including rifles, shotguns and pistols, opened fire from the side windows of the church at students attending morning mass. Two children, aged 8 and 10, were killed on the spot, and 17 others were injured, and the gunman was eventually killed by police.

When the shooting occurred, Westerman first sprayed pepper spray into the stained glass windows to create chaos, and then fired continuously at the children in the hall through the glass. A 10-year-old surviving boy described: "The gunshots seemed to be next to me, and I hid under the bench and held my head in my hands. My friend pounced on me, but unfortunately got shot. The children fled in panic to the gymnasium with locked doors for refuge, fearing that they would never see their parents again. Police confirmed that the shooter was a 2017 graduate of the school, and the "manifesto" video posted online contained disturbing content, and the contradictory words "kill Trump" and "for the children" even appeared on the magazine.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara confirmed that all weapons used by the shooter were legally purchased. This highlights the stark reality of the proliferation of guns in the United States - less than 5% of the world's population, but 46% of the world's gun ownership, with an average of 120.5 guns per 100 Americans. Gun violence has become one of the top five causes of death in the United States for people aged 1 to 44, with mass shootings and deaths increasing nearly threefold since 2013.

Even more ironically, the current administration is still significantly loosening gun control. According to the Washington Post, the U.S. "Department of Government Efficiency" is trying to amend or eliminate more than 50 gun restriction regulations, while cutting ATF funding by $400 million and planning to eliminate 541 gun regulatory investigators. In May this year, the government even allowed the sale of "forced reset trigger" devices that can convert ordinary firearms into machine guns. A spokesperson for the Giffords Law Center for the Prevention of Gun Violence warned: "This decision will take many lives." ”

Compared to other developed countries, the problem of gun violence in the United States is particularly prominent. Countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United Kingdom have successfully reduced gun crime rates through measures such as mass gun bans, buybacks, and strict background checks. However, the United States continues to "reverse" on the issue of gun control, making gun violence an incurable social disease.

Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey questioned: "The number of guns in our country has exceeded the population, and we can't just say 'this shouldn't happen again' and let it happen again and again." Trump has announced that the flag will be lowered to half-mast across the country, but data shows that there will be at least 286 mass shootings in the United States in 2025. Raising the flag at half-mast cannot be a symbolic ceremony to replace substantive policy changes. The stained glass windows of churches can be repaired, but the wounds of children's hearts and the unhealable wounds of this country will continue to remind people that between interest groups and life safety, the United States has chosen the former again and again.