What to Know Today
At least five killed, 25 injured in mass shooting at LGBTQ nightclub. A gunman carrying a semiautomatic rifle and a handgun, according to law enforcement, opened fire at Club Q in Colorado Springs on Saturday night. Police are investigating whether it constitutes a hate crime. Political scientists and activists told The Colorado Sun that an increase in anti-trans and anti-gay rhetoric, as well as anti-LGBTQ protests and legislation, set the stage for the violence at Club Q.
Two men arrested in connection to online threats against New York City synagogue in “developing threat to the Jewish community.” MTA authorities believe they intercepted the men — who were armed with a gun, ammunition, a high-capacity magazine, and a bullet-proof vest — before an imminent attack, and arrested them as they entered Penn Station on Saturday. The men were charged with making a terroristic threat, criminal possession of a weapon, and other firearm charges, CNN reported; law enforcement sources said that they also recovered a backpack at a Manhattan apartment that contained a semiautomatic firearm with a 30-capacity magazine and laser sight. One of the men had a Nazi armband and told police he operates a white supremacist Twitter group.
Philadelphia public transit approves AI gun-detection program. Last week, SEPTA’s acting police chief announced the program, which utilizes Navy SEAL-developed technology called ZeroEyes that recognizes guns as soon as they’re pulled out of a jacket or bag. According to CBS Philadelphia, SEPTA is the first transit agency in the country to test the tech.
Defense Distributed drops challenge to California ghost gun law. The Texas-based 3D-printed gunmaker filed the dismissal request Friday. A federal judge had previously denied Defense Distributed’s bid for an injunction against enforcing the law, Courthouse News reported, which criminalizes the use of milling machines and makes lawsuits to fight the state’s gun laws potentially more costly.
Applications for concealed carry permits spike in Oakland, East Bay area. The increase in applications comes after the Supreme Court’s Bruen decision, The Mercury News reported. About 1,500 applications are backlogged in Alameda County, where Oakland is located, and about 1,000 people are waiting for applications to be processed in nearby Contra Costa County. Before Bruen, Alameda County only had about 300 concealed carry permits on file.
Data Point
2,717 — the number of antisemitic incidents nationwide in 2021. That’s a 34 percent rise from the year before and a record high. [PBS]
