USA, 16 year old kills his parents, sister and friend in New Jersey

NEW YORK – The US ended 2017 with yet another massacre linked to the proliferation of firearms, this time in the family. The New Year massacre took place in Long Branch, a coastal town of 30,000 inhabitants, in New Jersey. About twenty minutes before midnight, a 16-year-old teenager carried a semi-automatic rifle kept at home, evidently without too many precautions, and fired on his relatives, killing three: his father, Steven Kologi, 44, his mother Linda (42) and older sister Brittany (18). Maria Schultz, a 70-year-old woman who lived with them, was also the victim of the shooting. Instead, the grandfather and the brother, who managed to escape, were spared.

The young man handed himself over without resistance to the police, who arrived after a call from neighbors who had heard a series of gunshots. 

The reason for the gesture is still unknown: perhaps a futile dispute, or a premeditated madness. The weapon was regularly held by a member of the family but kept in an easily accessible place. 

The boy will be charged with four murders and possession of weapons for illegal use. Tomorrow he will appear in court for a first hearing. 

“It’s a terrible thing, a tragedy,” commented Christ Gramiccioni, Monmouth County prosecutor.

The Long Branch drama will spark controversy over the spread of firearms in the United States. If the mass massacres that make most the news are those that take place in public places such as a church, a school, a cinema, a concert arena, a nightclub, the most frequent occur right between the walls of the house and are linked to Domestic violence. 

From 2015 to November 2017 in the US there were 46 mass shootings, intended as episodes in which four or more people were killed, excluding the attacker. According to data collected by the Everytown for Gun Safety organization, in 27 cases, or 59%, the murderer kills a partner or family member, or has a history of domestic violence behind him.

01 January 2018