A man fatally shot two women before turning the gun on himself in a church parking lot in the US state of Iowa, just moments after President Joe Biden delivered a speech urging greater gun control.
The attack took place on Thursday outside the Cornerstone Church, east of the city of Ames, while a programme was in progress inside.
Two separate shootings, killing at least three, were reported last night in the US, with the incidents coming a day after 10 people were shot dead at a grocery store in New York state in an alleged hate crime.
One was dead when a gunman opened fire at a church near Los Angeles during a banquet following morning service, officials said. Four others were in a critical condition, they told a press conference.
The gunman, believed to be an Asian adult male in his 60s, was subsequently detained by the churchgoers and his legs were hogtied with an extension cord, they said according to news agency AFP. At least two weapons were confiscated from him.
Local reports cited authorities as saying that the victims were mostly Asian and of Taiwanese descent.
Meanwhile, in Texas, Harris County Sheriff’s Office said multiple people were shot at a flea market and two of them were confirmed dead on the spot.
“This shooting may have stemmed from an altercation between two parties that turned violent. For now, we know of 2 persons confirmed deceased on scene, and at least 3 other persons have been transported to hospitals, unk conditions,” Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said.
He said it appears that the wounded were all likely participants in the altercation and that no innocent bystanders injured as far as we know. At least two pistols recovered and multiple were shots fired, he said.
In Saturday’s incident, an 18-year-old shot dead 10 people in a grocery store in New York State while he live streamed the entire episode.
Authorities have termed the attacked “racially motivated.” The gunman was later arrested
