Good morning, Bulletin readers. Mass shootings persist despite coast-to-coast stay-at-home orders. Plus, experts weigh in on how the pandemic will affect Chicago’s gun violence. Your Monday roundup begins below.
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WHAT TO KNOW TODAY
There were five mass shootings this weekend. On Friday night, four people were shot in Louisville, Kentucky. On Saturday, four people were wounded in a domestic shooting at a home in Vidor, Texas, and two people were killed and two others were injured in an apartment in Lubbock, Texas. Also on Saturday, a man in Hialeah, Florida, shot his ex-girlfriend, her new boyfriend, her adult daughter, and a police officer before being killed by police. And on Sunday, four men were wounded in a shooting in an apartment in Brooklyn, New York.
ICYMI: Will Illinois’s stay-at-home order reduce gun violence in Chicago? The city says crime went down in March. But experts warn it’s too early to draw conclusions as to why. “Crime and violence never goes up or down in a straight line,” said one researcher. Lakeidra Chavis has the story.
An Illinois man who feared that his girlfriend contracted coronavirus committed murder-suicide. A 54-year-old Illinois man shot and killed his partner after he reportedly feared she had contracted the virus. He then shot himself. The couple was discovered during a welfare check on Thursday. An autopsy revealed that neither tested positive for COVID-19.
Texas gun dealer accused of price gouging. The Texas Attorney General’s Office has received dozens of complaints that Cheaper Than Dirt, an online seller based in Fort Worth, is inflating prices of guns and ammunition. One man told a local CBS affiliate that the company charged him $1,000 for a thousand rounds of .223 rifle ammunition. Normal retail price? About $300. Cheaper Than Dirt received similar complaints following the 2008 presidential election and 2012 Sandy Hook shooting.
Maryland Democrats want the GOP governor to shut down gun stores. “Guns are not essential to solving this pandemic, nor will they make people safer,” reads the letter from a group of 58 state representatives and senators. “At this time, guns are only hurting vulnerable populations — victims of domestic violence and individuals already prone to suicide are most at risk.” Governor Larry Hogan responded that it “hasn’t been on the top of my priority list.” Don’t miss: Here’s our map of how state shutdown orders are affecting firearms retailers across the country.
DATA POINT
10 — the number of gun-related incidents linked to coronavirus-related concerns since February 27. — Gun Violence Archive
