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Handguns are on displayed at a gun shop, Thursday, June, 23, 2022 in Honolulu.

Handguns are on displayed at a gun shop, Thursday, June, 23, 2022 in Honolulu.

ATLANTA — So far in 2022, there have been more than 350 mass shootings, defined as incidents in which four or more people were injured or killed.

Approximately eight of them occurred in Alabama, according to gunviolencearchieve.org. Though not included in the list due to the number of deaths, the deadliest claimed the lives of three elderly victims at a church shooting June 16 in Vestavia Hills, Ala.

A 70-year-old man is accused in the shooting after he was invited to sit with them during a church potluck. He used a handgun.

In Georgia, nearly 15 mass shootings have occurred this year — among its deadliest was when three people were killed and three others injured after being shot at an apartment complex in DeKalb County. A handgun was also used in those shootings.

More recently, five people were injured from gunshots at a block party in Milledgeville, Ga. June 17. Hundreds of gunshots were fired, thought from various caliber handguns and long guns.

“The mass shooter attacks with the assault rifles are kind of like the shark attack that gets the (national) news but there might be a whole lot more shark attacks,” Cullman, Ala., Police Chief Kenny Culpepper said. “Every day you have gun violence ... and it could be three or four people that are shot or seven or eight, but it’s not that mentality of ‘active shooter.’

“It’s usually that someone wants to kill a specific person or a specific group or segment of people, but that doesn’t really get the news as much as the lone wolf dedicated mentally ill person that’s gonna go out and do that via active shooter, but it kills more people in the long run.”

According to national FBI gun homicide data from 2019, at least 62 percent of gun murders involved a hand gun, 3.55 percent rifles and less than 2 percent shotguns. Firearm types were not reported for nearly 32 percent of the incidents included in FBI data for gun murders.

“There’s not really a good answer to it. A lot of these shootings occur where alcohol is, especially drugs,” Lowndes County Sheriff Ashley Paulk said of his community in South Georgia.

Semi-automatic rifles use, however, results in the deadliest mass shootings, though hand guns (which largely aren’t considered assault weapons) overall account for most of gun deaths.

As it pertains to mass shootings resulting in multiple deaths, handguns are also common weapon. According to The Violence Project, which has analyzed mass shootings that have occurred since 1966, 80 percent of all mass shooters used at least one handgun during their crime; A semiautomatic assault weapon was used by 28 percent of shooters, according to the Violence Project.

“Assault weapons aren’t the problem. The guns never killed anyone by themselves. A lot of these shootings don’t involve an ‘AK’ or those type weapons,” Paulk said, adding that semi-automatic weapons encounters or confiscations in law enforcement are rare in his community, though more common among those in the illegal drug industry.

A Democrat-led proposal, the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021, seeks to ban assault-style rifles at the national level.

The federal proposal (H.R. 1808), sponsored by Rep. David Cicinilline, D-R.I., would prohibit the sale, transfer, import and manufacture of hundreds of models of semi-automatic weapons including:

• All semi-automatic rifles that can accept a detachable magazine and at least one military-type feature.

• All semi-automatic rifles that have a fixed magazine with the capacity to accept more than 10 rounds.

• Bump fire stocks and any part, combination of parts, component, device, attachment or accessory that is designed or functions to accelerate the rate of fire of a semiautomatic rifle but not convert the semiautomatic rifle into a machine gun.

• All semiautomatic pistols that can accept a detachable magazine and have at least one of certain military-type features.

• High capacity feeding devices (magazines, strips and drums) capable of accepting more than 10 rounds.

The ban would not apply to people who already own such weapons, and more than 2,200 hunting-style guns are exempt from the list. Currently, seven states and Washington, D.C., prohibit assault weapons.

According to Everytown for Gun Safety, assault weapons accounted for 25 percent of deaths and 76 percent of nonfatal injuries of incidents between 2009-18.

Last year, GVA logged nearly 700 mass shootings and 30 mass murders. This year, at least 16 mass murders have occurred in 11 states, according to GVA, with the most mass murders, four, occurring in Texas, and three in California.

The deadliest occurred in Uvalde, Texas, on May 24, when 19 students and two teachers were killed at Robb Elementary by an intruder with an AR-15. Eight people were killed and 29 injured when a gunman opened fire with a semi-automatic rifle at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Ind.

“I think that the NRA and the pro-gun groups should voluntarily impose or get Congress to impose a 20 percent tax on all assault rifles and high-capacity magazines, with the stipulation that the money raised will go to mental health and school security,” Culpepper suggested. “And that way, the gun lobby is being proactive instead of being on the defensive, constantly saying now you know, assault rifles aren’t bad and all that.”

Stronger background checks and red flag laws could also be an appropriate alternative to assault weapons bans and gun violence in general, Culpepper added.

According to Voice of America, two-thirds of mass shooters in tragedies resulting in larger number of deaths had a history of mental health concerns.

“You ask any law enforcement officer, and they could probably name five or 10 people that they think this person is maybe a time bomb waiting to go off but I don’t have anything to arrest you and they’re legally allowed to carry weapons,” Culpepper said. “They know that they’re just a little bit off but they haven’t done anything that’s to the point to where they can get them probated and put into a mental institution, or they know that they’re very angry about something but you can’t take their gun just because they’re angry. But if you have that Red Flag Law, and you start getting those vibes, hey, this is not good and I’m just going to do this for safekeeping.”

Most red flag laws allow for appeals, an avenue that would allow people to keep or proceed with obtaining a firearm. The Congressional House Judiciary committee held a hearing July 20 on the Assault Weapons Ban of 2021. If it advances out of committee, it would proceed to a House vote.

Saturday, 1 p.m., memorial service at the Memorial Funeral Directory Chapel in Princeton.

Anna Mae Barrett, age 88 of Bluefield, VA went to be with her Lord and Savior Thursday, July, 21, 2022. She was a patient at Carilion Tazewell Community Hospital. Born April 11, 1934 in Burke's Garden, VA she was a daughter of the late Trubie and Mabel Wilson. Anna Mae was a member of Memori…

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