Spate of violence across US mars Labor Day weekend

At least nine mass shootings have taken place nationwide so far during Labor Day weekend, leaving at least 10 people dead, according to Gun Violence Archive.

The mass shootings, which the organization defines as incidents in which four or more people were shot or killed, not including the shooter, took place in cities including Norfolk, Va., Charleston, S.C., and Chicago, among others.

The deadliest shooting of the weekend so far, according to the group, took place in Saint Paul, Minn., where three people died and two others were injured on Sunday in the city’s Payne-Phalen neighborhood.

The local police department said officers were called at about 4:30 p.m. and found two people outside a home suffering from apparent gunshot wounds, both of whom were sent to the hospital, KARE reported. 

The officers also found three more people, who were later pronounced dead, shot inside the home, the outlet reported.

“This unthinkable crime will not only affect the crime victims and their families, but it will affect the neighborhood where it occurred and our city as a whole,” police spokesperson Sgt. Mike Ernster told KARE, adding that authorities had been called to the house at least 17 times in the last year.

Earlier on Sunday, authorities said a shooting in Norfolk, Va., near the campus of Old Dominion University and Norfolk State University left two people dead and seven others injured.

Authorities identified the victims as Zabre Miller, 25, and Angelia McKnight, 19, later died at the hospital as a result of their injuries, officials said.

Close to the same time, police responded to gunshots in downtown Charleston, S.C.

Five people were injured in that shooting, near the intersection of King and Morris streets, and were sent to hospitals for non-life-threatening injuries, CNN reported. Police arrested two suspects.

In the suburbs of Washington, D.C., on Saturday night, a 16-year-old girl and a 17-year-old boy were shot outside an AMC movie theater and were hospitalized, WJLA reported. The shooting came hours after a nearby AMC theater in Alexandria, Va., closed after receiving a threat, according to the outlet.

Also on Saturday, Birmingham, Ala., police officers found three gunshot victims in the 100 Block of 3rd Avenue West. Police said two of the victims died, identified as Jalen Jamarcus Tolbert, 24, and Marquse Terrail Yarbrough, 25.

A shooting at Vick’s Supper Club in Palatka, Fla., on Saturday left two people dead and two others injured, police said. A fifth person was severely hurt after they were beaten with a “blunt object.”

In Canada, a series of stabbings left 10 people dead and 15 others injured. Authorities are searching for two suspects.