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US gunman kills 3 in separate attacks in Maine

Wednesday, 05 July 2017 5:47 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 05 July 2017 5:47 PM ]

Deputies in Madison, Maine investigate the scene where three people were reportedly shot dead along the same road July 5, 2017. (CBS photo)

A gunman in US state of Maine killed three people at several locations before being fatally shot by police, the deadliest shooting in the state since 2015.

The shootings happened on Wednesday at several places along a rural road about 4 miles (6 km) from the center of town in Madison, according to Maine State Police.

Somerset County Sheriff’s Office deputies shot the gunman to end the rampage, said Steve McCausland of the Maine Department of Public Safety.

In addition to the three dead, a fourth person was wounded. The condition of the wounded person wasn’t immediately clear.

According to Gun Violence Archive, nearly 8,000 people have been killed and over 15,000 more injured in more than 31,000 gun-related incidents across the US this year.

Numerous studies have found that gun ownership is directly associated with gun-related homicides, and homicide by gun is the most common type of homicide in the United States.

Firearm assaults were 6.8 times more common in US states with the most guns versus states with the least, according to a recent study by researchers at Harvard University.

About 29 percent of Americans own one or more of the estimated 300 million firearms in private hands in the United States, according to Columbia University researchers.

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