In US, no respite from shootings at weekend

Gun violence did not take a holiday over the weekend in the United States.

As the country mourned its war dead during the three-day Memorial Day weekend and people gathered with family and friends for the unofficial start of summer, more than 30 people died in shootings across the country, according to news reports from various media outlets.

Data from the nonprofit Gun Violence Archive showed that 17 people died in shootings on Monday alone, as of 8 pm local time.

The wave of violence unfolded less than a week after a mass shooting on May 24 at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, in which 19 children and two teachers were killed.

The US Department of Justice said on Sunday it would review the response of law enforcement at the behest of Uvalde's mayor.

In Uvalde on Monday, police removed school barricades to allow public access to a makeshift memorial containing dozens of teddy bears and hundreds of bouquets. Mourners gathered in front of photos of the children and teachers killed in the shooting.

Some observers pointed out that while mass shootings sadly dominate reports, other shootings garner less attention.

"It's important to recognize that people are dying every single day from gun violence that doesn't make national headlines," Melody McFadden, a volunteer with Moms Demand Action and member of the Everytown Veterans Advisory Council, told BuzzFeed News.

Action urged

"We need to be paying attention and taking action 365 days a year in order for this to end. Otherwise, we'll be right back here the next time, and kids will continue to suffer, people will continue to suffer, and communities will continue to suffer," March For Our Lives spokesperson Noah Lumbantobing told BuzzFeed.

Philadelphia, Chicago and Baltimore sustained multiple shootings over the weekend.

In Chicago, 42 people had been shot－eight fatally－by Monday evening as the city's police department canceled officers' days off ahead of time, the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

In Philadelphia, 13 people were killed, according to CBS Philadelphia. In the Wissinoming neighborhood, a father and his 9-year-old son were killed in a drive-by shooting, according to NBC Philadelphia.

In Baltimore, shots were fired in an amphitheater at the Inner Harbor on Saturday evening, killing a 17-year-old boy, The Baltimore Sun reported.

In Tennessee, several teenagers were injured in a shooting in downtown Chattanooga on Saturday night. Two of those wounded are "very, very critical", police chief Celeste Murphy told reporters.

In Oklahoma, authorities said a 26-year-old man is in custody after one person was killed and seven injured in a mass shooting at an outdoor festival in Taft on Saturday night.

The OSBI said the shooting victims at the Memorial Day event in Taft ranged in age from 9 to 56. A 39-year-old woman was killed.

Roughly 1,500 people had gathered at the outdoor festival to eat meals from food trucks and celebrate the start of the holiday weekend, BuzzFeed reported. Shortly after midnight, shots rang out after a possible argument, as panicked people ran for cover.

"Bullets were literally flying everywhere," Jasmayne Hill told the Tulsa World newspaper, describing how she dived to the floor of her food truck.

Agencies contributed to this story.