The United States of America has reached a point in history where tragic events are no longer surprising. At least, that’s how Dikembe Mutombo explained the situation.
TMZ Sports caught up with Mutombo at Reagan National Airport in Virginia recently and asked him for his opinion about the mass shootings that have taken place over the past few days and throughout 2019. As someone who emigrated to America from the Democratic Republic of the Congo in 1987, Mutombo could be surprised at the amount of violence taking place in his adopted country, but sadly, this is an aspect of life that simply no longer shocks him.
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“Nothing shocks me anymore in America,” Mutombo said. “When you’ve been living in America [for] 30 years, nothing shocks you anymore.”
As he explained, Mutombo believes that violence has no place in America. He also expanded upon the statement that “nothing shocks him anymore” by saying that America isn’t a violent place. It’s the people committing the crimes. However, he did express frustration at the lack of effort to fix this issue with the country.
“The people have spoken enough, nothing has been done,” Mutombo said of the politicians.
According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been 255 mass shootings in 2019. The two most recent came over the weekend in less than a 24-hour period. Saturday, a 21-year-old white male reportedly targeted immigrants and minorities at a Walmart in El Paso, Texas. This domestic terrorist attack left 22 people dead and many more injured.
Sunday, another mass shooting was confirmed, this time in Dayton, Ohio. In this tragic event, a 24-year-old male named Connor Betts killed nine people in less than one minute with a .233 caliber rifle while attacking a portion of the city known for its nightlife. One of the victims was his younger sister. The police quickly killed Betts, but he still had enough time to wreak havoc on society.
Since these past two horrific events, countless public figures have called for changes to be made with gun laws. Former NFL running back Reggie Bush expressed his frustrations with the mass shootings and racial inequality while Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones simply stated that Americans want changes to be made.
Mutombo didn’t call out President Trump or any specific politicians, but his disappointment was clearly evident. Like the majority of Americans, he wants to see changes made so that these violent acts no longer exist in modern society.
