The Frequent Mass Shootings You Don't Hear About

Just hours before the events in Las Vegas, three people were killed and two wounded in Lawrence, Kan. Leslie Soden, the mayor of Lawrence, talks with NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro.

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, HOST:

A mass shooting is commonly defined as having four or more casualties. Just hours before the massacre in Las Vegas, a mass shooting occurred in Lawrence, Kan., a college town of about 95,000 people. Three people were killed. They were in their early 20s. And two others were wounded. Police say they were all innocent bystanders. The shooter got away and is at large. Leslie Soden is the mayor of Lawrence.

LESLIE SODEN: Well, I think everyone wants to feel like their city is accommodating to everyone, but it's always a shock to wake up and discover this isn't isolated to larger cities or cities with a high crime rate. This can even happen here in Lawrence.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: And while Las Vegas has grabbed the headlines, it's worth remembering that all news is local.

SODEN: I found out about the Las Vegas one actually the next day because I was, you know, so focused on people trying to talk to me about what happened. So when I found out that happened and that it happened, you know, just hours after what happened in our city, it was like oh, my gosh. This is just tragic.

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Mayor Leslie Soden of Lawrence, Kan., on a mass shooting in her town. Since Las Vegas, there have been seven mass shootings in the United States.

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