News

The problem with how America talks about gun crime summed up in one paragraph

Flowers and crime scene tape hang from a tree in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel where a gunman went on a shooting rampage
Flowers and crime scene tape hang from a tree in the parking lot of a Cracker Barrel where a gunman went on a shooting rampage

An Uber driver is being held in custody after a 'random' shooting spree in Kalamazoo, Michigan, left at least six people dead.

Two others - including a 14-year-old girl - remain seriously injured.

Police arrested 45-year-old Jason Dalton at around 12.40am on Sunday without 'confrontation', seven hours after the shooting began.

A New York Times report examining the events which took place that day and those that followed shows one of the major problems America still has when it comes to talking about violent white men:

Sally Pardo, a retired nurse who lived across the street from [Dalton] and his family, said she and her husband had always thought of Mr Dalton as a 'nice guy' who worked on cars in his spare time. But he used guns in a troubling manner and sometimes sounded a little paranoid, she said.

'He periodically shot his gun out the back door,' Ms Pardo said. 'He would shoot randomly into the air.'

The extract in question was spotted by tech entrepreneur and blogger Anil Dash, who tweeted:

He also added:

I guarantee there are zero dudes in America who look like me & shoot guns randomly into the air who have white neighbours saying 'nice guy!'

Dash wasn't the only one to take note.

And the police are completely 'baffled' over his motive...

Chief of Kalamazoo public safety said: "These appear to be random acts of violence."

More: The gun homicide rate in the US put into quite stunning perspective

More: When pro-gun lobbyists say controls don't work, here's why they're wrong

The Conversation (0)