At least fifty-eight people are now known to have been killed and hundreds injured in the deadliest mass shooting in modern US history. A 64-year-old man armed with more than 10 rifles rained down gunfire from a 32nd-floor window in the Mandalay Bay hotel into a crowd of 22,000 people at a music festival. America and the world reacted in shock. There were condemnations and outpourings of deep sympathy to the victims and their families from all over the world, from leaders and ordinary men. Questions were asked immediately about the identity of the attacker and his motives. The world has seen plenty of Islamist terrorism and so the first tendency was to suspect their role.
Muslims in US and all over the world can heave a sigh of relief as an FBI official said that there was no known international terror link and the attacker was identified as a white male. The IS claimed responsibility through its website Amaq, saying the gunman was a recent convert to Islam. This shows that while being vigilant, the world needs to be cautious about IS claims. The group claimed a role in the Westminster attacks in March and an exhaustive probe found no link. The group similarly claimed a shooting in a Philippines casino in June, where the attacker was a gambler with debts and a drinking problem. Facing military defeat and loss of territories in Syria and Iraq, the terrorist group is looking for shootings and bombings everywhere to claim as its own.
It’s time for all Americans to ask the right questions after the Las Vegas shooting. All the US agencies have strenuously worked to root out terrorism after September 11, taking a series of tough and sweeping measures. The latest of these measures is the travel ban imposed by the Trump administration on some Muslim countries. At the same time, there has been little action to address the issue of gun violence that has become the scourge of American society. Debates about gun control often generate plenty of sound and fury and there has been a general consensus about the dangers of gun ownership but so powerful is the gun lobby led by the National Rifle Association (NRA) that no administration has dared to tighten the gun laws. The latest massacre too will trigger another round of furious debate but everyone knows what to expect. Trump, while condemning the attack in a bland style, has been silent about the larger issue of gun violence. “In moments of tragedy and horror, America comes together as one -- and it always has,” Trump said. But that’s what every nation does.
Trump’s White House bid was eagerly endorsed by the NRA. But it’s time for him to repay his debt to the American public.
