A mass shooting changed the political discourse too.
By Sreekanth A Nair
America witnessed some terrifying mass shootings that took the lives of many innocent people, in the year 2015.
Here are the five deadliest mass shootings in the US in 2015:
- San Bernardino shooting
The mass shooting in San Bernardino, California on December 2 killed 14 people and injured 22. A married Pakistani American couple, Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik, living in the city of Redlands, attacked a training event of San Bernardino County Department of Public Health.
Farook was an American-born U.S. citizen of Pakistani descent and Malik was a Pakistani-born lawful permanent resident of the United States. Farook was a health department employee.
Four hours after the attack, police chased their vehicle and killed them in a shootout. Later it was termed as a terrorist attack inspired by ISIS.
- Umpqua Community College shooting in Roseburg
Christopher Harper-Mercer, a 26-year-old student at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, shot an assistant professor and 9 students in a classroom. Nine were injured.
Harper-Mercer later killed himself after being wounded in a shootout with Roseburg police. Five handguns and one long gun were recovered from the crime scene.
- Waco shootout
A shootout at a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas, on May 17, killed 9 people and injured 18. Members of several motorcycle clubs had gathered at the restaurant to convene for a meeting about political rights of motorcyclists.
A conflict arose in the gathering when someone had their leg run over and it led to a mass shooting. Waco police, which was monitoring the situation, also started firing at the motorcyclists.
Seven of the killed were members of the Cossacks motorcycle club. About 177 people were arrested from the crime scene.
- Charleston church shooting
The mass shooting by 21-year-old Dylann Roof, in expectation of creating a race war at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in downtown Charleston, South Carolina, on June 17 killed 9 people and injured one.
The senior pastor of the church, state senator Clementa C. Pinckney, was among the people killed in the attack that took place during a prayer service. The shooter was arrested the next day.
- Tyrone shooting
On February 26, the town of Tyrone, Missouri, witnessed a mass gunfire that killed eight people, including the perpetrator and injured one. The attacker was identified as 36-year-old Joseph Jesse Aldridge who shot people at many locations across the town.
Aldridge was found shot dead the next day, from an apparent suicide.
All of the victims were adults and some of them were the relatives of Aldridge, including two cousins. He had been arrested earlier for possessing marijuana and did time in prison.