CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WTRF) – In 2022, there were nearly 650 mass shootings in the U.S. and the country has already had dozens so far in 2023 – 39 since January 1^st. 

One that has recently become known across the nation is the Monterey Park shooting, where a 72-year-old gunman shot up a dance hall in an Asian American community that had been celebrating Lunar New Year’s Eve, wounding nine people in addition to the 11 killed.  

**7 dead as California mourns third mass killing in just 8 days | WTRF**

Senator Shelley Moore-Capito said that the School Safety Act of 2021 that requires 18 to 21-year-olds to have extensive juvenile background checks and mental health record checks has resulted in some denials for purchases of weapons, but she says that accurate data is the only way to keep this up. 

”We need to encourage all of our law enforcement up and down the line to make sure that all of the information on past criminal histories is a part of that background check. So, you know, it is horrifying to think that you’re in a place to have fun – a dance club on a Saturday night I believe, in California – to have something like this happen is just… I can’t imagine being in that room and then of course losing a loved one is tremendously sad.”

Sen. Shelley Moore Capito – (R) West Virginia