Six people, including a 16 year old-mother and her 10-month-old baby, were killed in the Goshen, California shooting this past Monday, January 16. Authorities received a call at 3:38 a.m. from someone hiding on the property that multiple shots had been fired. When the police arrived, three bodies were found outside the home and more victims inside the home, including the grandmother. The mother and her baby were discovered down the street, forensic evidence disclosing she had tried to run away. 

Tulare County Sheriff Boudraeux linked the killings to gang associations and illegal drug trade, mentioning that his office had searched the home the week previously for drugs. He also noted this attack was “deliberate, intentional and horrific.” He added, “Not all these people in this home are gang members. And not all these people in this home are drug dealers. The 16-year-old female is an innocent victim. The grandmother inside appears to be an innocent victim. And definitely this 10-month-old child is an innocent victim,” he added.

The sheriff’s department on Tuesday identified the victims as: Rosa Parraz, 72; Eladio Parraz, Jr., 52; Jennifer Analla, 49; Marcos Parraz, 19; Alissa Parraz, 16; and Nycholas Parraz, 10 months. There were three survivors, all of whom have been giving details to the authorities. 

This massacre is part of the disturbing record of gun violence in the United States, one that is continuing into the new year. Earlier this month, a 6-year-old boy shot a first-grade teacher in her classroom retrieving the gun from his home. As documented by the Gun Violence Archive, the Goshen, California shooting was the 29th US mass shooting of 2023. 

In 2022 alone, there were 44,268 reported deaths in the United States to gun violence, further showing this alarming deadly gun epidemic plaguing the nation. Back in June, President Biden commented on the continuing rise of gun violence stating, “According to new data just released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, guns are the number one killer of children in the United States of America.  The number one killer.  More than car accidents. More than cancer.” 

There are several reasons contributing to America’s gun epidemic, from mental health crisis to poor security checks. Yet one that is less discussed is the steep rise in gun production. Data from 2020 shows how gun production has increased nearly three folds over the past 20 years, rising from 3.9 million in 2000 to more than 11 million in 2020. The United States also holds the highest record for civilian gun ownership, with the US ratio of 120.5 firearms per 100 residents, far outdoing other countries.