At least 12 dead, Including the Attacker, and six injured in a Massacre in a Tourist Location in the United States

A new slaughter in the United States

This time, in the tourist resort of Virginia Beach, 170 kilometers in a straight line from the US capital and next to Norfolk, the largest naval base in the world. The official count points to eleven dead in a building of the City Council of the town, when an employee of a public utility entered and opened fire early yesterday afternoon (night in Europe). The police believe that the murderer is dead, although it is not known if he has fallen by the agents' action or if, as in many tragedies of this nature, he has committed suicide.

The details of the butcher shop are still few. The only thing that has been communicated by the authorities is that the person, who apparently had been working for a long time in the public services company, was indiscriminately murdering people in several floors of the building. The reasons for his action are not known. In some cases, employees who are angry with their superiors or their colleagues have carried out similar actions.

The massacre comes just at a time when the main defense organization for the possession of firearms in the US, the National Rifle Association (NRA), is on the verge of financial collapse and in the middle of a scandal for alleged misappropriation of funds by its CEO, Wayne LaPierre. Of course that does not question the excellent health of the arms culture in the country. In fact, as of this month, high school teachers from the states of Texas and Florida are authorized to legally bring weapons to schools. In April, the United States withdrew from the United Nations Arms Trade Treaty that regulates the sale of this type of artifact. Firearms are the most lethal weapon in the world, and in the last decades they have caused many more deaths in both wartime and peacetime than combat aircraft or artillery.

With 320 million inhabitants, the United States only accounts for 4.5% of the world's population. However, in that country there are 393 million weapons, according to United Nations estimates. That accounts for 39.7% of all firearms in the world, including those in the hands of civilians and Armed Forces.