New York City Subway Shootings: Should Firearms Be Banned?

On Tuesday, 12, April, New York was shocked by the subway shootings that occurred. In a Brooklyn subway, a masked man launched smoke grenades and fired firearms to injure 10 people. Although there were no deaths in this event, the people of New York are in terror of this illogical and shocking incident. With the U.S having the biggest number of firearm casualties globally, it has come to the question of whether firearms should be banned.

The shocking incident occurred Tuesday, on a subway in Brooklyn. As the subway was approaching the next stop, a masked man launched several smoke grenades, covering the subway in black smoke. Then, the rampage shootings occurred as 10 people were wounded by the gunfire. It was witnessed that there was blood on the subway station, and many people were lying down in agony. The incident was investigated by the New York City police department and the suspect was caught on the 14th. NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell reported the capture of the suspect Frank James, a 62-year-old man who was identified as the shooter of the incident. He is currently held in federal custody with charges of terrorist acts. It is expected for him to be tried in court in the upcoming days.

The following incident showed the brutality of firearms and the questioning of their existence. Banning firearms has always been a controversial issue in the U.S, and was discussed in the three branches of U.S politics, however, has failed to lessen the number of shooting incidents. Many people are in fear in urban areas, as they are deciding to take other public transportations rather than pursuing the subway. As a citizen of a country that has prohibited all firearms for civilians, it is quite terrorizing to hear about this news on the internet. There is undeniable fear in South Koreans towards firearms in the U.S, as it is the same for U.S citizens. Summing up all the incidents and events in the past, it is hard to believe why the U.S has not actively promoted the non-proliferation of firearms. Incidents are occurring every year, and the claim of firearms being for self-protection seems to be weak at this point. It is not justifiable to shoot someone for self-protection when there is nothing to be harmed from. And it is also true that there are occasions when firearms are used for self-protection and can be considered a necessity. But at the end of the day, it seems only right that there need to be efforts in discussing firearm issues, and the non-proliferation of firearms in the U.S.