Shocking Carnage After Two Mass Shootings In One Weekend

Dozens Killed In El Paso, Texas and Dayton, Ohio

Two mass shootings at crowded public places in Texas and Ohio in less than 24 hours claimed at least 29 lives and left scores injured, a shocking carnage even in a country accustomed to gun violence.

In the Texas border city of El Paso, a gunman opened fire Saturday morning in a shopping area packed with thousands of people during the busy back-to-school season, killing 20 and injuring more than two dozen, many of them critically.

The shooting was being investigated as a possible hate crime as authorities worked to confirm whether a racist, anti-immigrant screed posted online shortly beforehand was written by the man arrested in the attack on the 680,000-resident border city.

Just hours later in Dayton, Ohio, a gunman wearing body armor and carrying extra magazines opened fire in a popular nightlife area, killing nine and injuring at least 26 people.

The Saturday shooting in El Paso and the Sunday shooting in Dayton were the 21st and 22nd mass killings of 2019 in the U.S., according to the AP/USA Today/Northeastern University mass murder database that tracks homicides where four or more people killed – not including the offender.

Including the two latest attacks, 125 people had been killed in the 2019 shootings.

Vitalant has sent over 350 units of blood to El Paso as the blood supplier to those hospitals.

They are asking for donors to help replenish the blood supply in the coming weeks.

The immediate needs are for donations of O-negative and O-positive red blood cells and platelets, however, donors of all types will be needed.

You can call Vitalant at 877-258-4825 or visit vitalant.org to schedule a blood donation appointment.

President Donald Trump has ordered flags be flown at half-staff until sunset on Thursday.

North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz have also ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff through August 8.