Displaying items by tag: gun control

Nicholas Prosper, 19, has been sentenced to 49 years in prison for murdering his mother and two siblings and planning Britain’s deadliest school shooting. The former school dropout meticulously planned a massacre at his old primary school, intending to kill thirty children and teachers. On 13 September 2024, Prosper shot and stabbed his family before heading towards the school. His plot was thwarted when police in a passing car noticed him acting suspiciously and arrested him. The court heard that he was obsessed with mass murder, child abuse, and online gore content, idolising past school shooters. He forged a gun licence to buy a shotgun and ammunition, using a loophole in UK firearms law. The government has now pledged to tighten gun laws in response. Prosper showed no remorse, expressing regret only that he had not killed more. The judge ruled that he might never be eligible for release.

On 24 May, 18-year-old Salvador Ramos entered Robb Elementary School in Texas, armed with a handgun and a rifle. He killed nineteen pupils and two teachers before he himself was shot dead. This was the deadliest school attack for a decade. Amid the outpouring of shock and grief, Joe Biden asked, ‘Why do we keep letting this happen? Why are we willing to live with this carnage?’ This tragedy has reignited the debate about guns, particularly since there had already been 27 other school shootings this year. Since his election, the president has made a number of pledges to tighten legislation, but he faces an uphill battle to convert any of them into action, given the fierce opposition from the Republicans and the powerful gun lobby.