Though the nation rang in the New Year a little over three weeks ago, America has already faced more mass shootings than days in the year.

   On Jan. 1, the nation grieved the loss of four people from a total of six shootings, located in Florida, Ohio, and Illinois. The largest one in Florida left nine people injured.

   CBS reported that the largest mass shooting of the year took place Jan. 22 in Monterey Park, California, “where a gunman killed 11 people and left nine others injured after entering a ballroom dancing class in the majority-Asian neighborhood.”

   The gunman, who was identified as 72-year-old Huu Can Tran, committed suicide after a standoff with police. The motive remains unclear, and victims continue to be identified by coroners.

   According to a study from Pew Research Center in the spring of 2021, only 6% of surveyed Americans believed gun violence to be an absent problem in the States. The majority, to some degree or another, viewed gun violence as a serious issue in the United States. 

   Many of the shootings this year have gone mostly unnoticed by many Americans. For many, the shock value has evaporated. 

   The Pew Research Center marked that “In 2020, there were 19,834 gun murders, marking the most per year since 1968.” 

   Gun violence in America continues to rise at unprecedented rates. Shootings have begun to feel like a regular occurrence. The nation was recently rattled by the six-year-old boy who shot his teacher in Virginia on Jan. 6. No one has been charged in the attack yet, and police officials are hesitant to give insight as to how to approach a shooter of such a young age and have declined to charge anyone until a full investigation has been completed. 

   With over 60 people dead from shootings in 24 days, Americans have been forced to consider the regulation of firearms. In a report from the Small Arms Survey, an international research center located in Switzerland, “there are at least 393,347,000 civilian-owned guns in the United States – or enough for each person in the country to have a gun and still leave 67 million over.”

   At this point, the nation is undoubtedly faced with a gun crisis. “No, I can’t believe it happened to us. But yes, I can believe it happened because it is happening in every community across the country,” Ray Mueller, a senior local official from San Mateo, the county of a California shooting, said in an interview with CNN.