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Five people shot, inured during vigil in Wisconsin

At least five people have been shot and injured during a vigil in Wisconsin.

At least five people have been injured in the US state of Wisconsin during a vigil remembering a victim of gun violence in the country.

Police said the shooting happened in the largest city of Wisconsin, Milwaukee on Saturday evening.

The incident occurred when a large crowd was mourning an 18-year-old victim who died after being shot on Friday.

A large group of people were in an alley nearby when at least one gunman opened fire and shot three women and two men.

One witness told reporters at the scene that “after we met up, people just started shooting at us and stuff, and you know, I had to take off running. So many shots rang out I had to get up out of there.”

It was reported that the mother of the 18-year-old victim was also shot in the incident.

Police said the injuries are not life-threatening and the wounded people would be released from hospital soon.

Police are still looking for the gunman and investigation is underway by several law enforcement agencies.

The issue of gun violence has become a hot topic in the US as the country has the largest per-capita of deaths due to gun violence.

 

Gun shops like the one pictured here in Illinois are popular across the US. (AFP/photo)

 

The rising gun violence in the United States costs American taxpayers nearly $230 billion a year, according to a three-year investigation by Mother Jones magazine published last month.

The average cost to US taxpayers for a single gun homicide in America is nearly $400,000, the report said.

Each year, more than 32,000 people die as a consequence of gun-related violence, suicides, and accidents in the United States, which is by far the highest among industrialized countries, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Furthermore, hundreds of children die annually in gun homicides when toddlers accidentally shoot themselves or a sibling with an unsecured gun.

HDS/AGB


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