The toll of victims of gun violence increases weekly.
Last Wednesday, TV newscaster Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward were murdered and Vicki Gardner, executive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce, was injured when shot during a live telecast from a mall in Roanoke, Va.
Clif CleavelandThe gunman, who would subsequently kill himself, video-recorded and transmitted his sadistic act for millions to see worldwide. The gunman, who had a history of angry outbursts and paranoid behavior, had purchased his weapon legally soon after the murders of nine church members in Charleston, S.C., in June. The Virginia gunman had neither police record nor history of psychiatric evaluation or treatment.
The publicity of the crime raises the risk of copycat killers who may seek similar notoriety, which is what the gunman in Virginia seemingly was seeking because he immediately posted his video of the killings on the Internet and faxed a 23-page manifesto to ABC News, detailing why he did it. On the international scene, ISIS executioners have repeatedly used televised murders to raise their profile.
Families and friends of the murder victims are scarred for life; the rest of us will experience shock and grief for an interval and then move on. A debate on limiting access to guns may be renewed but will be unlikely to alter national patterns of gun violence.