8 people were shot dead when a worker at a beer and wine distributor opened fire with a .223 calibre semi-automatic rifle in Hartford, Connecticut (USA) on 3 August. The shooting took place during a shift change and up to 40 people were inside the warehouse. Earlier in the week a masked gunman with an assault rifle killed two and injured six at a party in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence and former Indiana political leader said “We make it too easy for dangerous people to arm themselves - people like the angry, severely troubled man who murdered co-workers in Hartford. And we allow public access to military-style semiautomatic assault weapons, like the shooter in Indianapolis... There must come a day when we do something about this, rather than just shrug and say it’s inevitable”.
A month earlier, Egypt was shaken by a rare event, a mass shooting by a civilian. A 53-year-old construction company bus driver stopped his bus in the outskirts of Cairo and opened fire on the 23 passengers, his fellow employees. Eight people were killed and at least six were wounded.
An editorial in Daily News Egypt, citing facts from gunpolicy.org, claims that while Egypt's laws on gun ownership are restrictive, corruption, trafficking and poor law enforcement mean that guns are easily available on the illegal market. "Illegal gun possession isn’t like ignoring a red traffic light or public urination. Whether or not it is intentional, any laxity in the enforcement of gun control in Egypt will cost innocent lives ", said the editor.
IANSA member Ayman Sorour of PROTECTION Against Armaments & Consequences agreed: "While we have quite strong laws on arms ownership, we clearly do not have the same standards in applying them". He added, "Illegal trade of guns and other arms is common in some parts of Egypt, especially rural areas. This should be a priority for police forces to avoid an increase in civilian casualties".
Sherif Azer of the Egyptian Organisation for Human Rights pointed out that even the laws that are in place have serious loopholes. He called for stronger and more consistent gun legislation.
