What to Know Today
Takeoff, member of rap group Migos, shot and killed in Houston. The Atlanta musician, whose given name was Kirsnik Khari Ball, was fatally shot Tuesday during a private party at a bowling alley, a representative for Migos confirmed to KPRC. He was 28. Since 2018, at least one rapper who was famous, or close to it, has been killed each year, according to CNN. When rap artists are killed, the conversation that ensues often vilifies the genre, broadly linking it to violence with rhetoric that reinforces harmful stereotypes about Black people. Ohio State University professor Elaine Richardson told NBC News that this line of thinking elides systemic issues: “It’s a reflection of the problem of gun violence in the larger society, and violence in general in America. You have to think critically about oppression and the larger context we live in.”
As many as 14 people wounded during drive-by mass shooting near vigil on Chicago’s West Side. Three children, including a 3-year-old who was shot in both legs, were among the wounded, police said. No deaths have been reported, but two victims sustained critical injuries. The drive-by was one of nine mass shootings over Halloween weekend, according to the Gun Violence Archive; at least 10 people were killed and 46 wounded from Friday night to Monday night. Dreaming of a safer Chicago: In June, teenagers spoke to The Trace’s Justin Agrelo about the gun violence crisis and their relationship to the city.
TSA on track to surpass last year’s record number of guns detected at checkpoints. The Transportation Security Administration has detected 5,000 firearms in carry-on luggage so far this year — and the holiday travel season hasn’t even started. The agency found 5,972 guns in 2021. A TSA official told Forbes that the agency has already levied more than $20 million in civil penalties against travelers caught with guns in 2022, nearly half of the $52 million in fines issued over the past three years. Passengers are allowed to travel with guns if they are packed according to TSA rules and declared with the airline before the flight, but they’re not allowed in carry-on luggage.
Iowa ballot measure could make new gun regulations nearly impossible. The NRA-sponsored initiative would ostensibly incorporate Second Amendment language into the state constitution, The Nation reports. But the measure’s language goes beyond simply codifying Iowans’ right to bear arms: It would apply “strict scrutiny” to any new gun regulations, meaning that any new law must serve a compelling government interest and be narrowly tailored to that interest.
Israeli police urged settlers to carry guns on Election Day. On Sunday, Israeli law enforcement told licensed and trained gun owners to carry firearms as the country voted in the fifth parliamentary election in less than four years, Middle East Eye reported. (Public broadcaster Kan first reported the story in Hebrew.) Election Day was Tuesday. Israeli settler violence has surged in recent months, Jewish Currents reported in October, as Palestinians increasingly turn to armed resistance in the deadliest year in the West Bank since 2015. According to the United Nations, 488 Palestinians had been killed as of October 10; 193 of them were killed with live ammunition.
Data Point
87 percent — the percentage of guns detected by TSA agents that are loaded. [TSA via Forbes]
