Worry is like farewell; some are seriously considering leaving this frightening country.
"Where should I run?"
On March 22 last year, minutes after the shooting that killed 10 people in a supermarket in Boulder, Colorado, about 50 kilometers away, Megan, a clerk at a supermarket in Denver, was scrolling through her mobile phone. Looking at the tragic scenes.
In a report by CNN on June 26, Megan, who did not want to disclose her full name, said that she had an indescribable feeling when she saw the supermarket clerk who was also wearing a uniform fleeing in the picture. Now, "whenever I go into the store and start working, I think carefully about where the exits are and where I would run if I heard gunshots."
html On June 6, students wearing body armor participated in a protest called "Don't Avoid" in front of the Capitol in Washington, DC, calling on the legislative body to face up to the social problems of frequent shootings in the United States and demanding the strengthening of gun control legislation. "According to statistics from the US "Gun Violence Archives" website, as of June 23, there have been 279 vicious shootings in the United States this year that resulted in the death and injury of four or more people. "When will this unfortunate day happen to me?" Megan asked worriedly.
"Find an escape route in advance" has become an "obsessive-compulsive disorder" that affects many Americans. Ryan Tross lives in Sacramento, California and is a father of four. He and his family recently attended a school graduation ceremony. However, he sat in the auditorium, worried about where to flee and where to hide with his family if a shooting broke out.
html On May 29, in the city square of Uvalde, southern Texas, citizens held a vigil for the victims of the shooting. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wu Xiaoling "This is one of the first things I think about every day. What should we do? Where to run? How to hide? Where should I hide the children? Jump on them to protect them from harm. ?” On the morning of
’s interview, Tross was about to send his children to a public event. He had planned his escape route in advance, just in case. He said that he did not suffer from hypochondriasis , but because "we live in such a world."
"There's really nothing I can do"
For Glenda Prince, a 62-year-old resident near Austin, Texas, she is afraid to go shopping at a local supermarket she used to frequent because of the supermarket's Most of the customers are African Americans like her. She fears she could be targeted like the supermarket shooting in Buffalo, New York, in May.
In a shooting at a Buffalo supermarket, a white gunman killed and injured 13 people. Most of the victims were African Americans. Police determined the crime was motivated by racial hatred.
html In the early morning of May 15, a police car parked outside the supermarket where a shooting occurred in Buffalo, New York, USA (photographed with a mobile phone). Xinhua News Agency (photo by Zhang Jie) Prince now drives more than 30 kilometers to Austin city for shopping, and chooses late at night when there are fewer people. She went to such great lengths because she wanted to live to see her 7-month-old grandson grow up to 18 years old. "But no one knows what misfortune will happen to you."
Campuses are the "hardest hit areas" for gun violence in the United States. On May 24, 19 students and 2 teachers were killed at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas. This is the deadliest school shooting in the United States in 10 years.
Madison, Wis., resident Erin Romee has two children, a 2-year-old and a 4-year-old who will start kindergarten next year. Romay said that for parents, the first day of school is an important moment in their children's lives, but after the Robb Elementary School shooting, "that feeling is gone" and now they are "very scared" to send their children to school.
Every time he saw the kindergarten where his children were going to go, Luo Mei "would imagine a gunman attacking and my children were inside." "I'm already thinking about how I'm going to discuss with a 5-year-old what you should do if someone shoots at your school."
html On May 25, a police officer temporarily stopped near an elementary school in Los Angeles County, USA. Direct traffic and provide safety protection for students after school. Xinhua News Agency published Many parents also have the same anxiety. When Toni Leaf-Odette, a resident of Traverse City, Michigan, sends her 6-year-old daughter to school every day, she makes sure she knows her mother loves her. "The fear is that she might survive a horrific experience at school, or not survive."
"I'm helpless. Because it's up to someone, somewhere, to decide to walk into (campus) and take away My child’s life. There’s really nothing I can do.”
Flee, or pick up a gun?
Ryan Hoover lives an idyllic life in Ashburn, Virginia, with his wife and two children. But now, with gun violence on the rise, they are seriously considering leaving the United States.
The Hoovers had occasionally talked about it jokingly before, but after the tragedy at Robb Elementary School, it became a serious topic. Hoover had discussed working abroad with his boss.
On April 22, police worked at the scene of a shooting incident in a neighborhood in northwest Washington, the capital of the United States. The shooting injured four people and the gunman later committed suicide. The police found 6 guns and ammunition at the shooter's residence. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Liu Jie
"When we send them (children) out, when they get in the car every day, I have to suppress those horrific thoughts in my mind," Hoover said, "This evil (gun violence) How can we continue to live happily and contentedly with the ghost lurking in the corner? "
Some people are avoiding it, some are considering escaping, and some are planning to protect themselves with guns. Gary Bixler of Springfield, Ohio, refused to own a gun for most of his 66 years. The only "gun" he ever owned was a toy. But about a year ago, he changed his mind and he and his wife each bought a pistol.
Now, his wife carries a gun whenever she goes out. Bixler once asked his wife if she would shoot to stop someone with a gun in a store. "She said she would. But who knows what will happen when that time comes?" (Hui Xiaoshuang)
